A Tale That Differs
by Pilargirl
Summary: AU.What if Ginny had left Hogwarts after the chamber and the Weasleys had sent her to Beauxbatons? Five years later the war is at its worst and Molly wants her daughter back. But she's changed and only one certain emerald-eyed boy can bring her back.
1. Prologue

_**IMPORTANT! THIS STORY IS BEING REWRITTEN! Feel free to read but realize that each week, a new chapter will be changed! The better version is being uploaded on SIYE daily...it would be better to read it there! :D

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**A Tale That Differs **

**By Pilargirl**

**PROLOGUE**

Harry Potter's frown turned into a smile as he stepped into the bright green flames and thought about his destination. This last month he had, for the last time, coexisted with his aunt, uncle and cousin; for his own safety, of course. Nevertheless, Harry was extremely happy that he was finally going home, to the burrow...truth be told, the fact that he was going to the burrow instead of Grimmauld Place made everything even better, he had been dying to see Ron and Hermione since he passed the barrier at King's cross.

He took a second to think, once again, that it must be risky to take the floo but he remembered the letter from Dumbledore, confirming that they would never expect him to floo, especially from an electrical fireplace. Besides, once he was near the burrow, he'd be completely safe; the wards that Bill had worked on would be unbreakable for at least two weeks; just enough for the wedding to take place safely.

Harry, carefully, spoke out and braced himself as his body start to twist and turn and, soon enough, he was awkwardly trying to regain his balance on the Burrow's living room floor.

"Harry!" The boy heard Hermione's voice squeal just before being covered in a pair of tight arms. "Happy Birthday!"

Harry pulled back, looking behind Hermione, to see Ron walking towards him, and Mr Weasley smiling at him and then turning around, _to inform the order that I'm safe_, Harry thought. Hermione pulled away from him and Ron gave Harry a one-armed, manly hug.

"Happy Birthday, mate," Ron spoke as he pulled back. Harry smiled widely at them and felt a flush reach his cheeks, he'd never really got used to people actually remembering his birthday, let alone congratulating him.

He took in the familiar atmosphere of his favourite place in the world, after Hogwarts. He would give anything to live freely in a place like this for the rest of his life.

Before he could thank his two best friends he was interrupted by several shouts from up stairs. He then proceeded to realize that Molly Weasley, his almost adoptive mother, hadn't come to welcome him and pull him into one of her excruciating, bone breaking hugs.

"Where's mum?" he asked Ron. By now, calling Molly 'mum' was second nature to him but he remembered how, two years ago, the transition had been particularly difficult; in one way, it seemed like he was betraying his mum's memory; in another way, he was putting his honorary family at even more risk. However, the summer before fifth year, after Harry was nearly killed for trying to take a killing curse that wasn't meant for him and Molly nearly killed him and Ron for even putting themselves in any kind of danger, he finally understood it was the best word to describe what he felt for Molly and Arthur Weasley and what they fell for him.

Suddenly, another shout erupted from upstairs and Harry repeated his question.

Hermione and Ron gave each other a look that wasn't missed by Harry, who raised an eyebrow at them.

"Ginny's home," Harry's best mate simply said in a monotone voice. Harry didn't really know what to make of that, the last time he had seen Ginny Weasley, he was twelve and had just killed a basilisk...since then, he had heard a few stories of the girl but never really seen her

"Since when?" Harry asked casually as he walked towards the sofa and sat on it. His friends joined him, and he knew that if he wanted to get any talking done, it must be now, because in less than half an hour he'd be surrounded by Weasleys and Order members who would require him to tell them how his summer had been.

"This morning, really," Hermione answered him in a small voice that was strangely unlike her.

"What's going on?" Harry asked curiously, looking at his best friends with a mixture of curiosity and worry. "She was meant to be here, wasn't she? I mean, isn't she meant to be a bridesmaid at Bill's wedding?"

Ron let out a half-chuckle mixed with a sigh. "I don't know if she'll even bother with the wedding," he said. Harry sent him a questioning look.

Ron shuffled a little in his seat until he was comfortable, but as he opened his mouth, he realized he couldn't really put the words right, so he let Hermione speak for him. "Ginny was supposed to be here since the beginning of the summer, but she said she was going to stay at a friend's house the first few weeks. Molly got angry when she hadn't arrived a week ago and she sent her an owl, and after not getting an answer, she sent an owl to the friend's mother only to get a response from the woman, saying that she hadn't seen Ginny in over two years..."

Harry gaped at Hermione slightly then a thought crossed his mind and his expression changed, "Voldemort?" he whispered.

Ron laughed. "Unless Voldemort's suddenly a rather handsome Italian, I doubt it..." Ron muttered.

"What?" Harry asked, getting confused.

"It seems Ginny has been..." Hermione started. "She's been travelling during all the holidays she didn't spend here."

"But you guys haven't seen her in over a year, I mean, she wasn't here for Christmas, and she was gone by the time I arrived last summer so...how has she been travelling? With what money?"

"According to what we heard mum telling dad, she's just living as well as she can, taking the magical tent everywhere and just, you know, enjoying herself around Europe..." Ron spoke with a disgusted expression on his face.

Harry had to laugh, _Cute Ginny Weasley? Lying to her family and running around Europe?_ "Are you sure you've got the right girl, Ron? From what I can remember, your sister isn't exactly that kind of girl. Besides, what is she? Fifteen?"

Ron shook his head at Harry being so naive. "Tell that to dad, who put a tracing charm on her and found her in Spain, at a bar, drinking, surrounded by strangers."

Harry ran a hand through his hair; he was starting to think that maybe Voldemort would have been a better option.

Another shout was heard from above and the noise of someone descending the stairs was heard.

"Oh...you're already here," Harry heard an unfamiliar voice mutter behind him. The seventeen-year-old turned around only to have his jaw drop instantly at the sight before of him.

She wasn't tall, not at all; nevertheless, her legs seemed to go on forever and her tan was far too dark for anyone who was truly English. Her tank top left little, if not nothing, to imagination and her high-heels seemed to be in danger of becoming sky-scrapers.

The characteristic Weasley red hair was decorated by darker highlights and it fell around her face and shoulders with volume, Harry had never seen anything that resembled fire as much as that hair did. Funny enough, the thing that really shocked Harry was what he saw beneath the thick makeup and the curtain of red hair; he saw two big chocolate eyes that looked exactly like they had when Ginny Weasley had woken up in the chamber of the secrets.

"Ginevra Weasley! I haven't finished talking to you!" A loud voice was heard, coming closer each time. Harry saw the girl roll her eyes a little and leave the room, leaving him stunned.

"That's...?" Was the only thing Harry could mutter.

"Told you she wasn't exactly an eleven-year-old anymore," Harry heard Ron say.

"Yeah," Harry muttered. "No kidding."


	2. Chapter 1 :Keeping Something

_*UPDATED*_

**Chapter 1**

**Keeping Something**

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"_There are no secrets better kept than the secrets that everybody guesses." __**George Bernard Shaw**_

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The seventeen tiny flecks of fire disappeared into thin air as Harry let all the air in his lungs out with a small blowing sound; he couldn't help but take advantage of the proximity to smell the wonderful snitch cake that Molly had put so much effort into preparing.

The of-age-teenager looked around with a smile that illuminated his entire face and lightened his emerald eyes as his friends and adoptive family clapped and smiled back at him. He sat at a perfect table, surrounded by perfect people...his two best friends since his first Hogwarts' days, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, were looking at him with wide smiles on their faces and intertwined hands. Fred, George and Bill were there too; the twins, with eternal mischievous grins decorating their faces, and Bill with his arms wrapped tightly around his fiancé's waist. The woman in question, Fleur Delacour, sat in her future husband's embrace comfortably as she clapped for Harry's turning of age.

Standing up were Mr and Mrs Weasley, accompanied by Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Tonks, who were sending 'discreet', or so they thought, stares at each other. The two of them had been in love for the past year, but Remus Lupin wasn't only a werewolf, he was also incredibly stubborn and stupid; it seemed that he would never understand that love is worth a lot more that any danger.

After thinking about the love birds for a few second, Harry noticed the only two set of eyes that weren't turned to him; Ginny Weasley stood far away from the table, leaning against the counter and staring absently out the window.

To be honest, Harry was having a hard time dealing with the presence of the youngest Weasley. At first he'd attributed this to the shock of seeing the red head so changed in appearance and character but, deep inside, Harry knew he was a little irritated at himself. He really hadn't given Ginny Weasley a second thought since the incident in the Chamber, had he? He'd saved her, yes, but when she had walked out of the headmaster's office so many years ago, he hadn't even asked himself is she was okay, he hadn't even been bother when Ron had informed him that his sister would be attending Beauxbatons. Now, at the age of seventeen, he realized that he simply hadn't cared and he should have, Ginny was a Weasley, and as far as Harry and the other Weasley were concerned, Harry was no longer only 'Harry James Potter', he was more of a 'Harry James Black Weasley Potter'.

"Oh! Don't tell me we've missed him blowing the candles!" A voice that always cheered Harry up was heard coming from the door of the burrow's kitchen. Harry smiled and quickly got up and turned to his Godfather who engulfed him in a hug. "Happy Birthday, adult."

Harry smiled and pulled away from Sirius Black, looking at him and taking in his ragged looks. Sirius's hair was longer than ever, falling over his shoulders carelessly, his face was covered by dark stubble and his eyes looked tired; however, the grey orbs were also dancing with the happiness of seeing his godson. "I thought you weren't coming until tomorrow!" Harry couldn't hide the happiness; happiness that was strange, unusual, because they were in the middle of a terrible war, one that Harry was pretty much in the centre of, nonetheless, looking at Harry Potter with his family, you'd never guess what he was living through.

"Well, I couldn't bloody not come to my only godson's turning of age party, could I?" Sirius asked rhetorically with a smile. Harry thought he heard Molly mutter Sirius's name when he swore, but Harry was still thrilled, especially when, behind Sirius, appeared Dumbledore and his famous twinkle decorating his eyes.

"Happy Birthday, Harry," Dumbledore congratulated Harry calmly. "I'm sorry I kept your godfather away, but we had business to attend to..."

"Hello, professor," Harry's smile faltered slightly at the mention of business, otherwise known as the hell on earth that looking for Horcruxes was. Last year, with the help of Horace Slughorn, Albus Dumbledore had finally discovered the clue to Voldemort's immortality and he and Sirius, with Harry's occasional help, were making it their job to find these pieces of Voldemort's soul and destroy them."You've come just in time to eat some cake."

Dumbledore chuckled. "I'm sure it's delicious," the old man said, looking at Molly. "But I'm afraid I need to return to the school for a few meetings. I believe we'll be receiving you again this year, Miss Weasley?"

All heads turned to look at Ginny, who Dumbledore's last sentence was addressed to. The young girl stood, looking back at the wizard with indifferent eyes and her arms crossed lazily across her chest. She didn't say a word and Harry raised an eyebrow; no one had told him Ginny was returning to Hogwarts, he had guessed she would spend the summer here and return to Beauxbatons in September.

After a few seconds of uncomfortable silence, Molly Weasley intervened and walked towards her daughter, putting a hand on her shoulder and gaining a glare from the red head in question.

"Yes, of course, Albus," Molly spoke with a smile. "She'll be right there on the first of September."

Ginny Weasley had tried her best to remain silent but the smile that formed on Dumbledore's face made her break a little. The memory of that same smile comforting her, telling her 'everything would be ok', made her want to be sick. Nothing went okay, nothing could've ever been okay again after what she'd gone through, nothing would ever be okay when it came down to her and none of them knew that, none of them understood.

"Not if I can do anything about it," Ginny stated fiercely, before walking out of the room without looking at anyone; yet, as she was about to reach the door, she stopped, and, without really knowing why herself, she turned to look at Harry.

"Happy birthday," she muttered before turning around again and walking up to her bedroom.

Silence filled the room, and the only thing everyone could do is look at the ground, not wanting to face the awkwardness of meeting eyes with Molly or Harry.

* * *

Ginny sat in her bed, really fighting the urge to disapparate, she knew the wards would detect it and maybe the Ministry would get involved; she didn't need that. So, instead, she kicked the furniture hardly.

"Ouch!" she moaned as she hit her smallest finger against the sharp point of her mirror, which had been dropped to the ground when she hit her wooden nightstand. She looked at her finger and shook her head at the blood that was coming out of the small cut. She gulped slightly as she felt the pain become worse and she placed her other hand over the the small and thin finger and ignored the pain, concentrating.

"What are you doing?" asked a voice that made Ginny lose concentration. The girl looked up to find her father staring down at her.

"Nothing," Ginny snapped. "Doing my own stuff, nothing concerning anyone of you, don't worry, I won't blow up the house, if that's what this is," she added, looking around her with what she would classify as an expression of pure disgust.

Arthur Weasley looked at his only daughter like she was an unwelcome stranger. "Don't talk like that Ginevra, I won't warn you twice."

"I don't want to talk at all! I just want to get out of here." she stated, making it seem like she didn't care. "I don't belong here! I was perfectly happy where I was, there was no point pulling this whole thing off and upsetting everyone."

"We're in a war, Ginny!" Arthur shouted. "And not only haven't we seen you in more than a year, but it turns out that you've been alone! Lying to us! Drinking? Dressing like an indecent woman? Acting like you're not fifteen? We're the Weasleys, Ginny! We're not like this, and we didn't bring you up like this."

A look of hurt and anger crossed the girl's face. "Don't lie to yourself. You didn't bring me up." She knew it was a low blow, but she needed to get out of here, it wasn't any good to anyone. "You sent me to Hogwarts, making it seem like the world was all colourful and making magic out to be the best thing that there ever existed...I wasn't ready to deal with the consequences of magic! I wasn't ready to not have anyone and suddenly feel that _he _was my best friend, my only companion...you didn't bring me up! I brought myself up that year and all the rest since then!"

"You begged us! You begged us to take you away from the source of your nightmares! We wanted nothing more than for you to stay but you cried and cried and begged!" Arthur, a man who was not known for his anger, shouted back at his daughter, not believing she was blaming this on Molly and him.

Ginny let out a dry laugh. "And you still don't realize..." she muttered low enough for Arthur not to here. She knew she had to stop fighting now or she'd loose all her nerve and come out with everything, but she knew that wasn't a possibility, just the thought of the outcome made her wince.

"Ginny, I don't care if you think that because you've been doing things only adults should do, you're one. You are just an immature and irresponsible child and in a month you'll get on the Hogwarts express and you'll spend the rest of the year there, supervised by Dumbledore and where we can keep an eye on you. Things are going to change for you, Ginevra, and it doesn't matter how many witty remarks you come out with, or how many arguments you make up; your mum and I aren't making the mistake of letting you go twice and, I can see now, clearer than ever, that you'll thank us for it later on."

Arthur's exit was immediate but a discontent atmosphere remained in the room, making Ginny, angering her even more. She placed her hand over her cut finger again.

Her lips moved slightly, causing the cut to come together and completely disappear. Ginny looked though the window and saw Harry and his godfather, Sirius, heading for the bench in the Burrow's garden. She closed her eyes and breathed in, knowing that soon her mind was going to be filled with uninvited guests; she felt her hand start shaking and she cursed.

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"So," Sirius spoke with an amused voice as he sat on the wooden bench. He looked around and saw most of the Burrow's garden was filled with preparations for the upcoming wedding. "That Ginny seems like quite a charmer..."

Harry shook his head. "I'm trying so hard to understand what could've happened to her. Ginny used to be so...innocent and sweet...maybe a little, I wouldn't know the word...smothering?...but nothing like what I've seen today. Besides, the Ginny I used to know looked nothing like this girl; I mean, don't take me wrong, I'm not saying she looks bad, but she just used to look so different. "

"Harry, from what I have heard, when you first bordered the Hogwarts Express you were a small little squirt..." Sirius told the young man.

Harry laughed. "Wow, thanks, Sirius," Harry told him.

"What I'm trying to say," Sirius explained himself, "Is that a lot of things change...you are no longer that neglected child that got a pair of used socks for his birthday...if he was lucky," Sirius continued through gritted teeth, he held a strong hate against the Dursleys for the way they had treated his godson...it also took him a while to forgive Dumbledore for leaving Harry with them and not even checking on him. "The point is, Harry, that maybe with Ginny it's completely the wrong way around. She was probably loved and looked after like a princess until she went to Hogwarts, and then suddenly the whole Chamber incident happened and she probably felt guilty for nearly killing those people and that cat..." _Sirius knew the stories far too well_, Harry thought. "From what I get, after that she pulled away from her family and probably felt alone..."

"That's not fair, Sirius, the Weasleys never pushed Ginny away, Ron told me she begged them to take her away from Hogwarts. You can't blame this on mum and dad," Harry told him rather seriously. Sirius couldn't help but laugh sadly.

"Can't you see it, Harry, of course they didn't mean to push her away, but they didn't exactly fight enough to keep her near – instead they ended up smothering you and being worried about you, a poor little guy who's in mortal peril every hour of the day. You call Molly and Arthur 'mum' and 'dad' like it's the most natural thing in the world...from what I've seen, tonight; Ginny would rather not use those names."

Harry stared into space, wondering if Sirius was right. He remembered third year had been one of the only years where he hadn't gotten himself into Voldemort troubles and it had been the first time he spent the whole month of August in the Burrow...he recalled tension and a worried atmosphere each time Ginny didn't reply an owl, she had been at a Quidditch camp that year, and Molly had been upset that they hadn't been able to celebrate her birthday with her. Then came forth year and with the Triwizard Tournament and all that, when he arrived at the Burrow and Ginny was gone to a friend's house, it was all about Harry – Harry couldn't even remember Ginny's name being mentioned.

"Maybe," Harry muttered sadly, it wasn't exactly comforting to think that you had taken someone else's place in their own family. "Anyways," Harry spoke, changing the subject. "Dumbledore looked positive, what have you found?"

Sirius smiled. "You'll never guess! Remember when you told us about Malfoy Junior and the the Room of Requirement?" Harry nodded, listening attentively. "Well, Dumbledore figured that maybe it could be a good hiding place for a Horcrux and, remember we were evaluating the possibility that Rowena Revenclaw's diadem might be one? Well, there it was...and, to make things better...Snape got hold of something with the Death Eaters...there might be something in the Lestranges' vault."

"In Gringotts?" Harry asked with wide eyes.

"Yes, in Gringotts, probably guarded by a dragon," Sirius stated with a fantasy-like tone to his deep voice; he had always been adventurous and every magical creature seemed pretty tame compared to dementors.

"So, the diary, the ring, the locket and the diadem...that makes 4 down...only 2 left..." Harry spoke.

"That's it, Harry...and the best thing is we know with certainty that one is Nagini, and the other is in the Lextrange's Vault and probably belongs to Helga Hufflepuff...for Albus doesn't think that Voldemort would make a Horcrux out of anything from Godric Gryffindor. It's almost over, Harry, the end is coming."

Harry gulped slightly, up to now he'd barely done anything but listen to Dumbledore's and Sirius' success with the Horcruxes and train himself with the two of them every week last year. He really didn't think he was ready to face Voldemort, not by himself. Besides, no matter how much Dumbledore insisted that 'the power that he knows not' was love, he still didn't feel like love was gonna help him. He'd give anything for the ones he loved, he'd kill for them and die for them time and time again, but he didn't think that was the key to destroying Voldemort.

"Yes, the end is coming," Harry repeated slightly scared, but he forced himself to not let it show.

* * *

Harry walked up the stairs and headed for his and Ron's room. His best friend wasn't on that floor, though. According to what Harry had gathered while Ron was talking to him and biting into the birthday cake at the same time, Hermione hadn't wanted to importunate Ginny when she came home, so Mrs Weasley, who agreed that it might not be the best idea for Ginny to share a room, set out the magical tent in the Garden and Hermione would sleep there; obviously, Ron would be there until his mother came into the tent and told him to go upstairs...then he'd come to the room, get his pyjamas, take Harry's cloak, escape with his broom through the window and be back with Hermione in a matter of minutes.

Harry couldn't help but laugh at his friends, who had been an item for over a year; even if they did exclude him a little from time to time, the smiles on their faces were worth it, they truly were made for each other.

Harry continued walking until he reached the first door, which lead to Ginny's bedroom. Funnily enough, he'd never been there, even though Hermione tended to stay in that room, he had never needed to enter; now, curiosity took hold of him.

He opened the door and peeped inside...he expected to see Ginny inside, sleeping or at least in bed, reading or something, but he didn't see her inside. He had to admit it was strange; she couldn't be downstairs, for he had just come from there and the bathroom door was open, so she wasn't in there. Finally, deciding she had probably gone upstairs to talk to Bill or something, Harry stepped inside, and took a look at the room, the candles shone on a deserted bedroom; no posters or colours, simply a scruffy bed and an improvised table filled with papers that Harry realized were probably Hermione's. He then saw the night stand and the broken mirror on top of it, and he reached out to touch it.

"Why are you here?" A serious voice behind him spoke. Harry humped slightly and turned around to find Ginny Weasley standing behind him. "What are you doing?" she asked in the same tone.

"I'm sorry," Harry apologized sincerely. "I passed by and realized I'd never even seen the room, so I opened the door and saw you weren't here, where were you?" Harry asked casually, trying his best to avoid any tension and act friendly with the youngest Weasley.

She glared at him. "That's none of your business, and you have no right to come barging in here like this is your house."

Harry looked at her for a second, he had to admit that it hurt to hear that; the Burrow _was _his house; it was where his family lived.

"This _is _my house," Harry spoke his thoughts out loud. "I shouldn't have come in, I was being nosy, but there's no reason for you to get so defensive."

"I'll act in any way I want, Potter, so just get out," she snapped at him.

He stared at her for another long while. "Why are you like this? What's wrong with you?" he asked her quietly. She almost smiled at the fact that he even showed concern, but she stopped herself.

"Why don't you take a guess, it's what everyone seems to do around here," she advised him, surprised that she actually opened up even a little bit to him. He waited a second before answering, considering how to put the words correctly.

"I don't believe in guessing, I mean, not without some sort of 'clue' behind it," Harry tried to make her understand. She held the door open for him, and he walked towards it, but he didn't continue his way to his own room. She laughed drily, like she'd done in her talk with her father.

"I'll give you a clue, Potter...You don't want to know."

And then, she closed the door.


	3. Chapter 2 :Respect My Family

_*UPDATED*_

**Chapter 2 – Respect My Family**

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"_Family isn't about whose blood you have. It's about who you care about._" **Trey Parker and Matt Stone****,**

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"I'm not wearing that!" Ginny Weasley's loud voice sounded from downstairs, waking Harry and Ron both up with a start. Ron made a noise similar to a growl and threw his pillow over his head; Harry simply turned to lie on his back and spread his arms, he began to feel relaxed again, but another shout interrupted his recently found peace.

"Have I mentioned how much I _like_ your sister?" Harry asked Ron in the most sarcastic tone he could manage as he reached out for his glasses, put them on and looked at his watch. It was 9 am, and normally he'd be up at this time but yesterday Dumbledore had insisted in giving Harry, Ron and Hermione (who would obviously be covering Harry's back during the final battle against Voldemort) a midnight duelling class so, as he put it, they'd be ready for anything.

Ron grumpily took the pillow of his head and threw it at Harry. "Look, I'm not comfortable with this either," he stated. It had been a week since Harry had arrived and for the first time in his life, he found himself wanting to leave the Burrow. It wasn't that Ginny was having problems; it was more like she was creating them. She wanted to get out of the Burrow and back to wherever she used to be as soon as possible, and it seemed that she thought that she might achieve that by making her family's life a nightmare.

"I guess..." Harry muttered as he got up, heading for the bathroom.

"Are you gonna get up?" Harry asked Ron, who was still lying comfortably in bed, before leaving.

Ron yawned and stretched him arms. "Not until I have to."

"What does that mean exactly?" Harry asked. "Until Mum comes up here to tells you to do some chore? Or until Hermione comes up here demanding you to get your arse out of bed so she can make you do some homework?"

Harry heard the red-haired boy sigh loudly and start sitting up in bed. "I think I'll go to the bathroom upstairs and hide from those two until they forget I exist."

Harry laughed. "Might not be hard, Mum's too busy fighting with Ginny and I heard Vicky's coming in a few hours to see Fleur," the seventeen-year-old teased. Harry saw Ron's face grew red as he got out of bed quickly and started grabbing his things. "It's a joke, Ron," Harry, then, confessed. "He's not coming until the day of the wedding. It's far too easy to get to you sometimes, man."

Ron gave Harry a dry and sarcastic laugh, accompanied by a deathly glare. "Thanks. Now, I'm too awake to lie down...I'll just go downstairs for breakfast."

"Without showering? Ron, we were practicing for three hours last night and you went straight into bed...you stink," Harry informed him.

"Thanks again!" Ron angrily told Harry as he gathered a towel and a few clothes.

Harry laughed. "You're welcome," he said as Ron marched out of the bedroom and up the stairs.

* * *

"I said that I won't wear that!" Ginny shouted for what seemed like the hundredth time this morning. The dress her mother was trying to make her wear wasn't ugly...if you were eleven... but it was simply pathetic for her to wear it at her age. It was a beige colour with a flat top that covered everything up to the neck, obviously made for someone who had close to no boobs and it was pompous from the waist down, it also had huge sleeves that almost reached Ginny's elbows.

"Ginny," Molly spoke, trying to keep herself from shouting. "For the thousandth time, this is _Fleur's Wedding _it's _her _day and if she wants you to be up there, wearing this dress, you will."

"Mother," Ginny spoke back in the same tone but obviously mocking. "That dress looks wrong on me. It's designed for a child and I am NOT a child. I don't even want to be up there...I'm doing it because I promised Bill I would be a bridesmaid at his wedding...I might have only been ten, but I keep my promises; however, I promised I'd be a _bridesmaid,_ and this is a flower girl's dress."

"Fleur isn't having bridesmaids and you can't dress differently from Gabrielle, that wouldn't look right," Molly tried to convince Ginny.

"Have you heard a word I said?" Ginny shouted harshly. "It looks even worse to try and dress me up as a kid."

"You ARE a kid!" Suddenly Molly's anger exploded. "Maybe not physically, but that dress suits your mentality perfectly! Stop acting like this, Ginny. You're not going to leave! You are going to go to Hogwarts and you're gonna be with us! What you were doing in Europe is extremely dangerous, we are a targeted family and if He-who-must..."

* * *

Harry was walking towards the kitchen when he heard Molly Weasley's shouts coming from one of the rooms downstairs. He knew he should let it be and keep well away from anything that had anything to do with Ginny Weasley, but he couldn't help the urge to see what was going on. He walked towards the closest door to the kitchen and peeped through the semi opened door to see Molly shouting at Ginny while she held a golden dress that Harry supposed was the one that Ginny had not wanted to wear before.

"And if He-who-must-not-be-named had found you, he could've used you against all of us...against Harry!" Molly shouted.

"Voldemort wouldn't know where I was," Ginny spoke confidently, surprisingly not scared of the name; but Harry could swear that he recognised a strange shiver in her voice, almost like she wasn't as confident as she wanted to sound.

"You never know that," Harry spoke up suddenly, surprising everyone, including himself. He didn't know why he had, but after hearing Ginny's lack of conviction when talking about Voldemort, his hero complex made him intervene.

Molly looked up and quickly left the dress on a chair, walking towards Harry a second later. "Oh! Harry, you're awake! Let's get you to the kitchen, I'll make you some breakfast, dear."

Harry smiled at her. "Thanks, Mum, I'll be there in a second," he told her, making it pretty clear he wanted to speak to Ginny. Molly looked from Harry to Ginny for a second and then nodded as she headed out. Harry looked at her leave and saw her take a finger to her eye and brush a tear off.

Ginny found herself left in the room with Harry, alone, and quickly tried to make her way out, but as she reached the door, she realized Harry was standing in her way.

"Let me out," she spoke harshly, looking at the ground out of fear of looking at him in the eye.

Harry crossed his arms. "No," he simply said.

"I said," Ginny said loudly as she moved her gaze upwards. "Let me -" but she interrupted herself as her gaze met his eyes and she realized just how close they were. A million thoughts ran through her mind as those two emerald eyes invaded her sight.

Harry had to remind himself to breathe as her eyes came into sight. Her hair was hanging down her back as she looked up at him, leaving her face completely uncovered and her brown eyes shining brighter that he ever thought eyes could shine. The sound of a pan suddenly took them back to reality and they both took a step back quickly. Harry shook the strange feeling that had overcome him off, and he became serious again.

"You have to stop this," he told her seriously.

"I...I...I don't know what you mean," Ginny lied, taking a hand to her back and crossing her fingers subconsciously again.

"You're lying," he spoke in a low tone. "And you know something about Voldemort, don't you?"

Ginny gulped audibly. "Wh-What?" she babbled.

"My life has been filled with people lying to me at one time or another, I know how to recognise someone who doesn't believe in what they're saying..."Harry told her seriously.

"Cut the crap, Potter," Ginny suddenly snapped, surprising Harry. "I'm...I'm not in trouble...I...I simply lied because I...I...I had the feeling Voldemort might know where I was a couple of times...yes, that's it...that's why I moved from one place to another so much."

Harry looked at her carefully, not quite buying her answer, but he had to admit it made sense; besides, what other option was there apart from that, or Ginny being a Death Eater or something like that. Then a thought came up in his mind.

"Wait, you thought Voldemort might be after you and you continued travelling through Europe on your own? Do you know how dangerous..." Harry started, but as he saw Ginny give him an exasperated look, he shut up.

"Fine, I'll drop the subject," Harry accepted. "But, still, that's not what I wanted to say, I...you're hurting the family, Ginny, and in times like these, we don't need to hurt each other, we all need to be together and as happy as we can be."

Ginny gave him a dry laugh. "Why?" she simply asked.

"Why what?" he asked in response and feeling extremely confused.

"Why do you talk of yourself as a Weasley?" she asked him almost angrily. How come he, who wasn't a Weasley, acted like he was another one of them when she, who was born a red-head, barely belonged to the clan anymore? Where did 'blood's thicker than water' go? He was water, right? Then, why did he act like he was blood?

Harry breathed in. "I told you three days ago that this was my house and what I was thinking when I said that was that is that, well...this is my house because this is where my family is. Mum and Dad...I never met my parents, Ginny. The nearest I ever got to that is seeing them in the mirror of Erised and seeing their ghosts come out of Voldemort's wand in fourth year. All the memories I have of them is my mum's scream and a jet of green light I...Mum and...your parents have treated me like another son since the morning I showed up in the Burrow after being saved by the twins and Ron, them and the rest of your brothers are my family, just like Sirius, Remus, Tonks are like my uncles and aunt and Hermione is my sister and, for god's sake, even Dumbledore is a kind of Granddad; I'd kill for any of them, they are the people I really couldn't live without and...you're hurting some of them; Mum and Dad never meant to push you away, you pushed yourself away and you can't blame them for trying to keep you safe. So, Ginny, cut the attitude and stop hurting _our_ family, because if I have to chain you up somewhere, I will."

"Look, Potter," she told him, "You don't understand. None of you understand a thing..."

"You don't let us understand anything, you don't speak to us..." Harry interrupted.

Ginny signed. "Let me finish, Potter. None of you understand and it's better that way, okay? Things are hard and I'm sorry you lost your parents and, believe it or not, I'm happy you found a family and I'm okay with it being mine, and...contrary to what you might thing, I don't blame my parents for 'pushing me away' because, you're right, I pushed myself away and I did it with good reason and that reason still stands, that's exactly why I can't stop being a bitch, Potter, I need to get out of here..."

"Look, Ginny, there really..." But harry was interrupted by Molly's voice.

"Harry, breakfast's ready!" the voice shouted.

"Going, Mum!" Harry shouted back but he made no effort to move. "I don't know what's wrong, and it's more than obvious you're not going tell me, but you're not going to get your way, Ginny; Dad and Mum aren't going to let you go, neither are your brother or me...you're stuck here, and in a week you're going to have to walk down that aisle and make your brother happy because it's not all about you anymore...We're a family and you're staying with us, and you'll share a bedroom with Hermione at Grimmauld place and you'll go to Hogwarts and learn that this is your life now. There's no point trying to run away, Ginny, you're never gonna get your way."

"Harry!" Molly Weasley's voice shouted once again.

"Right there, Mum!" Harry shouted without taking his eyes of Ginny. He didn't know where his words had come from, but he knew that if he had been talking to anyone else they would of never come out of his lips.

Ginny gulped slightly. "I'm stuck here, aren't I?" she asked.

"I'm afraid so," Harry replied, they kept staring at each other in a sort of trance, none of them saying anything, but both of them feeling a lot.

Harry was the one to break the strange connection they were sharing as he headed for the door but, before leaving, he spoke.

"Are you going to cut the attitude?" he asked her.

"I'm not going to stop being who I am, that attitude goes with me," she replied a little coldly as she looked straight into his eyes.

"I don't want you to change," he told her sincerely. "I'm just asking you if you'll stop messing with our family's life."

Ginny pressed her lips into a straight line. "I'll try," she whispered, and, after looking at her another second, he left.


	4. Chapter 3 :Tears

_*UPDATED*_

**Chapter 3 – Tears**

* * *

"_There is a sacredness in tears. They are not the mark of weakness, but of power."_ **Washington Irving**

* * *

Molly Weasley sat at the kitchen table that morning; she wasn't eating; she was silently spending her time by looking over her family.

Her husband was beside her, immersed in the daily post, reading about the multiple attacks that the war had left behind. Ron and Hermione were talking to each other while Ron devoured his toast, and Hermione neatly ate her perfectly presented scrambled eggs. Finally, the two remaining people at the table were silent; Ginny was looking at her plate, moving the food around with her fork, and Harry was eating his bacon slowly as he kept stealing glances at Ginny.

Molly fixed her eyes on Ginny. Molly wasn't sure what her surrogate son had said to her youngest a week ago, but the change in Ginny's attitude hadn't gone unnoticed. Ginny wasn't herself, not even close, but she was behaving, she wasn't causing trouble.

"Hey, people," Fred's cheerful voice entered the kitchen, followed by another 'Hello' by his twin, George; soon enough, both redheads walked through the door. They sat down and grabbed each a piece of toast from the centre plate.

"What are Bill and Fleur up to?" George asked out of curiosity before biting into his piece of toast.

Molly stood up and started putting some plates into the sink. "They're going through the ceremony so they're ready tomorrow."

"What?" Fred asked with a snicker. "Together and alone?"

"Yes," Molly replied, turning around to look at her son.

George and Fred laughed at the same time and they spoke in unison, "Sounds to me like they're enjoying the privileges of being married beforehand!"

A small second passed and suddenly everyone but Molly and Ginny left what they were doing and started laughing. The matriarch looked disapprovingly at the twins, but continued walking around the kitchen; however, the youngest redhead didn't even acknowledge the twins presence, and it didn't go unnoticed. The two boys, not used to being ignored, stood up and walked to either side of Ginny, making her look up at them and shake her head in discontentment.

"What do you want?" she asked harshly, causing Harry to send her a disapproving look. Ginny caught it and glared back at him, telling him nonverbally to mind his own business.

"Wow! Still being a bad girl, Ginnickins?" George spoke, regretting it a second later when Ginny stood up, pushing the back of her chair hardly into his stomach. George let out a pained noise and Ginny smirked at him as the rest of the family looked at her in disbelief.

"Don't-Ever-Call-Me-Ginnickins!" She ordered slowly but forcefully before walking stubbornly out of the kitchen and into the house.

Everyone in the kitchen looked at each other a little awkwardly. Ginny had behaved the last week; yes, okay, she was never 'nice', but she didn't create problems. Harry stood up and looked at the Weasleys and Hermione.

"I'm...I'm..."

He suddenly stopped. What _was _he going to do? – well, he knew he should go out there and start talking to her, trying to get her to open up; but how did he explain that to her family? Wouldn't they think it was weird that _he _was the one going out there?

"Go, Harry," Molly suddenly told him, after taking notice of his discomfort. Harry nodded and walked out into the garden.

* * *

Harry had to admit that Ginny was making him crazy. She wasn't really doing it on purpose, but she still made his head spin. Like, for example, right now. She was sitting on top of the brick wall that surrounded the Burrow's garden, her long legs dangling over the side as she looked into the mountains in the distance; her long red hair was flying behind her, dancing in the wind, following its own crazy rhythm. Her arms were wrapped tightly around her small frame, covered by a small black t-shirt and a pair of jean shorts and, even from a distance, he could still see her beautiful brown eyes sparkling in the sunlight. He didn't know why he felt like this, he had no idea why all these small details stood out to him, but he knew that the persistent feeling below his chest was something he recognised, but now it was stronger and he had no idea what that meant.

Harry walked towards the wall, but Ginny didn't even see him, she was too lost in thought. He walked up the little wooden stairs Mr Weasley had once put up and he sat gently beside her.

"Nice view, right?" he spoke, making her jump from the surprise.

She lost her balance and felt herself starting to fall when two strong arms brought her up and settled her firmly on the wall.

"What the hell do you think you're doing? I nearly killed myself!" she shouted angrily at Harry.

He simply looked at her without speaking, she was angry right now, but he could see a trace of sadness in her beautiful eyes. His arms were still holding her tightly, as if scared the she might go somewhere if he let go.

"Potter!" she yelled at him, pulling him out of his thoughts.

"I'm sorry," he spoke slowly. She looked at him for a second too, questioning his sanity.

She coughed, as if to make sure he knew she was here. "Mind getting your hands off me, Potter?"

He looked at her questioningly and then took his hands away from her hips as quickly as he could without making her loose her balance again.

"I'm sorry," he repeated making Ginny chuckle.

"You've already said that," she informed him, giggling a little.

Harry turned his head towards her quickly. "You giggled," he observed with certain 'awe' to the tone of his voice.

Ginny gulped, turning her face away from Harry. "Yeah, what's with it?" she asked him in an impertinent tone as she looked at the hills once again.

"Hey," Harry spoke softly and kindly as he placed his hand neatly on her forearm, she winced slightly at the contact, but didn't say anything. "It's okay to giggle, Ginny, it's okay to have fun...no one's asking you to not enjoy yourself."

She couldn't do anything but snort at that. "If only you knew anything," she whispered to herself as she looked at Harry's strong hand on her arm.

"Tell me, then, Ginny, tell me...you can trust me," he spoke, surprising her; she hadn't thought he'd heard her whisper.

She snorted again. "You're the last person I'd tell about my problems – Trust _me_, Potter. It's better if you stay away."

She lifted her head up and their eyes met, only to make them both realize how close they actually were.

"Fine, d-don't tell me," he muttered, wanting to pull away from her gaze, but not finding it in him to do it. "But don't be scared of giggling or laughing or smiling...whatever it is that you're scared off..."

"I'm not scared of anything!" she interrupted bluntly. Harry rolled his eyes.

"Okay, then, whatever it is that is...ummm..._making you worry_...it can't hurt you, Ginny...You're protected here, I'm not gonna let anything happen to you," he assured her.

She really couldn't help but smile at him. "You have a bit of a hero complex, you know that, right, Potter?"

He laughed. "It's what I've heard...always had the 'saving people' thing." He then looked at how the smile brightened her face. The sun was shining on the pale skin, but her face was illuminated by another glow, brought on by that breathtaking smile. "You've got a beautiful smile," he couldn't help but say. It was like her brown eyes where a truth potion, he just couldn't hide his thoughts from her. He felt something flutter in his chest as she bit her lips and blushed slightly; just thinking that he had made her blush made him smile even wider.

"Be careful, Potter," she spoke seductively, making hivers go down Harry's smile. "Making me blush is something that not many men can accomplish."

And having said that, she shifted to the right, and looking down at the ground, jumped down from the wall.

Harry caught his breath as she jumped, but let out a relieved sigh as she landed perfectly on the ground. Something about her last comment was off, though. Harry was aware that Ginny wasn't innocent, it was obvious, and that made the comment make sense; but he wasn't a 'man' for her, right? Just like she wasn't a 'woman' to him, was she? What he meant was that Ginny was a Weasley... technically she was part of his family, true? He could never think of Ginny Weasley in any other way than a brother would think of a sister.

He then looked up and saw the girl walking back into the house. Her long legs moving rhythmically, her red hair flowing behind her and her hips moving from one side to another gently and sensually, making him blush just by looking at her...Yeah, right...just like a brother!

* * *

Bill stood in the middle of the living room in his dress robes as Mrs Weasley made the last minute adjustments. Everyone else was sitting around them. Ron was on a cushioned armchair; Hermione, on one of the arms, looking with a smile at Bill, and Harry was standing beside the two of them, snatching glances at Ginny every few seconds and feeling extremely frustrated that she wasn't returning his stares. He couldn't help feeling stupid as he thought of the situation he was in. Not a week ago, he was dreading having to be in the same house as Ginny, but since he had spoken to her, something had captivated him.

He wasn't inexperienced with girls; he had fancied a few of them and dated two seriously. During his fourth and fifth year he'd had a fling with Padma Patil that had lasted over three months and ended when Seamus Finnegan and the girl found out they were 'fond' of each other. It really hadn't affected Harry a lot. Later on, for a year and a half, Susan Bones and he had been a strong item; it had ended a few months ago, when she had left to go abroad with her parents. This break up had affected Harry an awful lot more, especially when he was sure he loved the brunette, but after a few weeks Harry was back to his normal self. Now, with Ginny, it was similar yet so different; he didn't know Ginny, did he? He knew she was beautiful, obviously, that was something that everyone could see, but it didn't explain why seeing her was more refreshing than a bucket of cold water thrown over your head, and as burning as an uncontrolled fire at the same time. She made his head spin and that stupid feeling below his chest erupt for no reason. In conclusion, it was something he didn't understand and he definitely did not need, not right now.

Ginny was sitting comfortably on the edge of the brown sofa. Her legs where crossed, her left one falling loosely over her right and a magazine in her hands, but she wasn't actually reading it, she was too busy laughing silently at the looks Harry was giving her.

She knew Harry was off limits, she knew she should stop doing those little things that would end up making him crazy, and she also knew that up to this morning he hadn't wrapped his head around the fact that she was an actual 'woman', but, by the looks that he was sending her, she'd swear that his head had informed him of something. She chuckled at the thought of Harry being the one to stick his elbow in a butter dish now.

"Oh! William, will you PLEASE stay still!" Molly shouted at her son. Bill was about to answer back when the door opened, causing everyone to look up.

"Yes, _William, _stay still!" Charlie Weasley joked as he entered the room with a smile. He was wearing a long brown cloak, and his red hair fell over his ears messily. There was a new scar on his face that went from the right of his forehead to his left cheek.

"Charlie!" Molly Weasley shouted with enthusiasm, pinching Bill with a needle as she did so.

"Mum!" Bill protested grabbing his leg. Molly ignored him and pushed her second eldest son into a bone crushing hug.

"Oh! Charlie, what _is _that thing on your face? I thought you were on Order Business...still with those dragons, aren't you? I wish you could've owled," his mother started pestering him.

The twins got up quickly and stood to each side of Molly. "Stop smothering him, Mum," the two of them spoke in unison, hugging Charlie a second later.

"Hi, Hermione," Charlie greeted. Hermione gave him a small wave and a smile. Ron and Harry both got up and walked towards him.

"Hey, Charlie," Ron greeted, giving his brother a one armed hug.

"Man, you're like a head taller than me now, Ronnikins," Charlie joked, causing Ron to blush a little and making Harry laugh.

Charlie chuckled and proceeded to ruffle Harry's hair. "And you too, Dark Weasley, it's only been since Christmas..." Charlie told Harry, using the nickname he had gained after Molly and Arthur had given him his own hand for the Weasleys' famous clock. Charlie had called him 'Dark Weasley' because of his black hair.

"Things change, people definitely change..." Harry muttered, a certain sixteen-year-old redhead in his mind as he spoke those words.

"Hi, Charlie," Bill finally greeted, not being able to move given the fact that his trousers had over twenty needles on them.

"Hey, Mr I'm-getting-married," Charlie joked with his naturally not-serious voice. Bill chuckled. "Still decided to give your freedom away?"

"More decided than ever..." Bill answer with a smile, making others in the room laugh.

"So, where's Da..." But Charlie stopped when Molly walked towards Bill, and a young girl with red hair came into view, making Charlie stop breathing as he recognised that hair and the freckles on the girl's arms. "S-squirt?" he asked in a whisper.

Ginny gulped slightly, breathed in and looked up, shocked to see the expression filled with confusion on her brother's face. She and Charlie had been extremely close before she had gone to Hogwarts... after that, he had still remained her favourite brother, but Charlie hadn't been there the summer after the Chamber; he had only sent one owl that summer, telling her that leaving Hogwarts was stupid. After that Charlie hadn't been there, at all; Charlie Weasley hadn't seen his only sister since she had left for Hogwarts.

Ginny nodded curtly at him. "Hello, Charlie," she spoke slowly, trying hard to keep her voice from breaking. She had hoped he would come later, she had hoped he wouldn't come at all. Ginny Weasley was strong, she wasn't going to break, but she knew, if she were to break, Charlie Weasley had a good shot at being the one to cause it.

"You're...y-you're here..." he spoke in the same voice as before. His voice already breaking.

Around the two of them, everyone else was quiet. Everyone knew that it had been years and years since the two had looked into each other's eyes.

"Yes," she simply answered.

There was a long silence where Ginny and Charlie just looked at each other without blinking, the tension could be cut with a knife, but the two redheads where too immersed in each other's eyes to notice.

"Ginny arrived two weeks..." but before Hermione could finish her explaining, Ginny got up and walked quickly up the stairs. She hated this, she hated whenever she felt the need to cry... she didn't cry... she hadn't... not since _'then' _anyway.

Harry stood up subconsciously, ready to go after Ginny, but was interrupted by his best friend's voice.

"Where are you going, mate?" Ron asked curiously.

Harry swore silently under his breath and turned around. "Just standing up and walking around, I like standing up and walking around once in a while...or...I...just like...it," Harry babbled. Ron seemed content with the answer, but Hermione and Molly both raised their eyebrows suspiciously at him. Shit, these women knew him far too well.

"I," Charley muttered, still a little disoriented, given what had just occurred. "I'm going to go up there... talk to her..."

* * *

"Hey," Charlie simply said as he stood under the doorframe of Ginny's bedroom. She was sitting on the bed, looking at the ground.

"Hey," she answered back quickly, still looking firmly at the ground.

"You've changed," Charlie commented as he made his way to her bed. He looked at her as if asking for permission and she nodded hesitantly. He then sat down next to his sister.

Ginny looked at him. "You haven't," she replied to his comment, trying to keep the conversation form getting awkward. If there was one thing she hated more than crying, it was 'awkwardness'... well, if you left out other stuff that she would, of course, hate even more than that.

Charlie chuckled. "I should've supposed you would be here; I mean, I knew you were a bridesmaid...I just..."

"Forgot?" Ginny asked him with a knowing look on her face. He suddenly looked guilty. "Don't worry. It's been years...you probably forgot you had a sister ages ago."

"Not true," Charlie started. "I remembered your birthday... did you celebrate it here? It was two days ago..."

Ginny had to snort at that one. Celebrate her birthday? No one had even dared to suggest it...well, Harry had the night before, but by the glare she gave him, he decided to shut up. Anyway, just to make sure, she had stayed in her room the whole day on the 11th, she hadn't even gone out to have lunch. "No, we didn't..." she simply said.

"Why didn't you answer my letters?" he suddenly said, causing Ginny to go into defensive mood... she always did when someone accused her of something.

"Why didn't you come and see me that summer?" she asked in response.

"I was working," he replied quickly.

"I was busy," she replied to his previous question, smirking slightly as she said so.

Charlie snorted. "Busy doing what? Begging Mum and Dad to send you away?"

Ginny nearly growled at that, how dare he? "You have no idea what I went through," she spat at him harshly. That summer had been the worst of her life, it had been a continuous sequence of days that went worse than the one before, and she had wanted to stab herself more than once.

"Oh, come on, Ginny! You're strong, you've always been strong... you were just running away," Charlie spoke, standing up. Ginny stood up too, furiously.

"How dare you? You don't know a thing! I didn't run away from him! I'm not scared of him!" she shouted at Charlie, pointing a finger accusingly at him.

"Really? Because leaving without looking back, to me, sounds like a terrified little kid running away..."

* * *

Harry ran up the stairs the minute the other Weasleys were too distracted to notice.

"I'm not scared of him!..." he heard Ginny shout and he started going up the stairs two by two. He reached the second floor, out of breath, and he walked to Ginny's room. Charlie and she were standing opposite each other; her hair looked like fire at that moment, when her face was decorated with pure anger.

"Sounds like a terrified little kid running away..." Harry heard Charlie shout and he knew what was going to happen before it did. Ginny took out her wand and aimed it straight at Charlie, but before she could mutter any words, Harry's voice was heard.

"_Expelliarmus!" _Harry shouted, making Ginny's wand jump out of her hand. Both Charlie and Ginny turned to look at Harry.

"What the hell are you doing? Did you hear what he just said?"

"Ginny, you can't do magic out of Hogwarts, you'll get expelled before you even get there!" Harry stated, picking up her wand and putting it in his pocket, indicating she wasn't getting it back until they arrived at school.

Ginny suddenly looked enthusiastic. "Are you serious? Wait, give me my wand back... does it have to be an unforgivable or will a simple Bat-bogey hex do?"

Harry shook his head at Ginny. "If you get expelled, you'll have to spend the year at home...being taught by Mum."

Ginny sighed."Fine, you win...no magic, but give me my wand..." she said.

"No, I'll give it back when we get on the Hogwarts Express." The two of them seemed to have completely forgotten that Charlie was even present.

Ginny made a disgruntled noise. "If I burst from keeping my magic unused, you're gonna pay for it, Potter."

"I'm dying to see what you're going to do to me; after all, I am the Boy-who-lived, so...you'll have to come up with something good," Harry joked with a grin.

Charlie raised his eyebrows at the teenagers, it seemed like they'd been bickering like this for years.

"What is going on here?" he spoke his thoughts out loud. Harry didn't say anything, it was Ginny who spoke.

"You mean the flirting?" Ginny asked without looking at Charlie.

"I'm not flirting with you," Harry told her. Once again, the two of them forgot Charlie was there, so the dragon tamer went out of the room, not wanting to get in the middle of another conflict.

"Oh, so your...You've got a beautiful smile... what was it?" Ginny asked with a smirk.

"An observation," Harry said quickly. And as fast as he could, he came up with an excuse to get out of there. "I need to go to...feed the chickens..." he babbled, leaving as quickly as he could, and making Ginny laugh.

* * *

Harry entered his room to find Hermione sitting on the floor, leaning on his bed and her hands wrapped around her legs. Truth to be told, Harry and Hermione hadn't had to many 'moments' since she had started dating Ron, it wasn't that they weren't as friends as before, it was more the fact that it was always 'the trio' or Ron and Hermione...it had been long since Harry and Hermione had had a chat alone.

"Hey, Harry," she greeted him with a smile. Harry smiled back and sat down beside her. "It's been a while since I've talked to you alone."

"Yes, what can I say? I push my friends into a broom closet together so they can stop fighting and I come back an hour later to discover them making out in a way I never wanna see ever again... I feel replaced," he told her in a mocking sad tone.

She hit him playfully on the arm. "No, I mean it, how are you? Have Sirius and Dumbledore told you anything new?" she asked thoughtfully.

"No," Harry assured her. "They don't want to go into Gringotts until I'm completely ready to fight him. They think that he'll know we've found out about the Horcruxes when we do that, so... they'll leave that until I'm ready."

"What about your school homework?" Hermione asked.

Harry rolled his eyes. "Look, Hermione, if I beat Voldemort, I'll get any job I want...not that I need to work anywhere...given the fact that I'm rich and if I _do _beat him I'll get the economical compensation that comes with an order of Merlin. And, well, if I don't beat him...I'm gonna be dead anyway, so..."

"Don't say that, Harry, you're not going to die...you're gonna beat him – remember, you have the power that he knows not. You can love, Harry, he's not half as powerful as you are," Hermione assured him, but harry could hear fear in her voice.

"Yes, I guess, but...look, don't take this the wrong way, I love you and Ron; I love Mum and Dad; I love Sirius, Remus, Tonks, Dumbledore, the twins, Bill, Charlie...I love you all and I know you feel the same, I'd kill for you guys, I'd die a thousand deaths for you, but...no matter how strong that sounds, it doesn't feel like it's strong enough to beat him. Maybe I'm just destined to give all I've got and let it be what destiny wants it to be...but, no, right now I don't think that 'power that he knows not' is going to be much help," Harry stated, making Hermione sigh.

"We love you, we care...so much, and we're gonna be there, right beside you...and you're gonna beat him...something tells me you're gonna beat him and I believe you're gonna beat him. We all believe in you, not because you're 'the-boy-who-lived' or 'the chosen one', not even because you're 'Harry Potter' – we believe in you because you're 'Harry', 'our Harry', and, like you just said...you'd kill for us...and you're gonna do that, you're gonna stop him from hurting anyone you love ever again. You're gonna make him pay for taking your parents away, for killing all those people," Hermione told him sincerely.

Harry smiled at her, and she hugged him tightly. "Thanks," he whispered in her ear.

The door opened and Ron came into the room and raised an eyebrow at his friend and girlfriend, hugging on the floor.

"Harry, get you hands of my girl!" he ordered playfully. Harry laughed and Hermione tried to pull away, but Harry pulled her closer.

"Harry, stop playing," Hermione laughed.

"Why? Would you rather hug the red bear?" Harry asked Hermione.

"Potter..." Ron warned, still playfully but starting to get serious.

"Truthfully?" Hermione spoke. "Yes, I like red bears better than black ones."

Ron snickered and Harry faked to get upset as he let go of Hermione. The girl stood up and wrapped her arms around Ron, making him smile.

"Now, this is how I like it," Hermione said as she hugged Ron and giggled.

"You're right," Harry said, getting up. "Red bears are nicer than black ones..."

Ron laughed and pulled away from Hermione's hug simply putting an arm around her. "Harry, I'm flattered that you like me in that way, but...I'm kind of into brown bears...and female ones."

Hermione laughed. She loved this; it was such a friendly atmosphere... Harry, Ron and she, like always, the three of them against the evil. "Besides, Harry," Hermione spoke, "I recall you liking a few black bears. Actually, your first crush had black hair...didn't she?"

Harry felt himself blush. Hermione and Ron would never let him forget his crush on Cho Chang in fourth year. Right now it seemed like it was impossible that he ever liked her in that way... After the Triwizard Tournament, Harry and Cedric Diggory became friends, and therefore, Harry ended up being friends with his girlfriend, and now wife, Cho. Besides, he knew what Hermione meant – Padma had black hair and so did Parvarti, Padma's twin sister whom he had taken to the Yule Ball in fourth year, that's actually how Padma and Harry had started to know each other.

"So, Harry," Hermione continued speaking. "What red bear do you have your eyes on? I hope it's not mine, 'cause I'm not sharing him."

Harry went rigid immediately. "I didn't...I don't...why are we talking about bears?"

* * *

It must've been about two am when Harry woke up with a start. He'd had a dream; Voldemort was happy about something, Harry suspected he'd killed another family.

He looked to his left and found Ron sleeping soundlessly – okay, not soundlessly, more like peacefully snoring. He got up silently, wanting to grab some water, but he knew he wouldn't regain sleep tonight, his scar was aching. Harry opened the door carefully and started to walk down the corridor when he heard it.

"I can't do anything about it," he heard Ginny whisper. He walked towards her door and peeped in; Ginny was sitting on the bed, head in hands, no one in the room besides her.

"Get out of my head!" she whispered harshly again. "Shut up!"

Harry was torn. He had no idea what to do, so he followed his instincts. He knocked on the door carefully and Ginny looked up immediately. He gasped, then. The moonlight was coming in through the window, illuminating her tired face; her eyes were bloodshot, like she wanted to cry and sleep, but she was incapable of either one.

"What are you doing here, Potter?" she asked him, trying to sound harsh, but not having the strength to do so.

"Are you okay?" he simply asked her in response as he walked towards her bed.

"I was just...I...had a nightmare," she told him, but Harry once again realized the shiver in her voice, the Weasleys weren't known for their lying skills, and Ginny was no different.

"Me too," he informed her, sitting down beside her on the bed. He saw guilt cross her face quickly.

Ginny gulped. "It wasn't a nightmare," she confessed, looking at him right in the eye.

"I know," he told her, seriously. He couldn't really explain it, but as awkward as this was supposed to feel, as terrifying as the silences should be, they weren't, not at all.

Ginny looked up at Harry and suddenly felt safer than she had ever felt. Like nothing could ever hurt her; like all her problems were far, far away...in another life, a completely different world.

She shifted nearer to Harry and he, following his instincts, wrapped his arms around her, pulling her tightly against him.

Then, Ginny couldn't help it when a tear began to form in her eyes and she no longer felt like she should hold it; something in her brain told her it was okay, told her it was time to let all the tears fall. And they sat for hours, not one word was spoken, only tears came out; tears that surprisingly made everything just a little better.


	5. Chapter 4 :Flirt

_ *UPDATED* _

* * *

**Chapter 4– Flirt**

* * *

_Flirting is the sin of the virtuous and the virtue of the sinful_ – **Paul Bourget**

* * *

Harry Potter was exhausted. He had barely been in his own bed for an hour when Molly woke him and Ron up and told them to start getting dressed. He and Ginny hadn't slept last night, they hadn't spoken either, they had simply sat on her bed, in each other arms, while she cried and he ran soothing hands through her tangled hair. He wasn't sure how to describe the feelings that came to him last night. He had felt sadness and sympathy towards Ginny, yet, he had felt an amazing power at being the only one able to comfort her.

"Where were you last night?" Ron's tired voice came from the door. Harry was getting ready to put on his dark green dress robe at that moment, but he stopped abruptly when Ron spoke.

"I...I..." he stuttered, turning around. "I had a nightmare."

Ron snorted. "I figured that when I heard you twist and turn and I heard you leave, I always fake to snore when I hear you - I know you hate it that you wake us up...anyway, what I'm asking is, where did you go? I didn't hear you get back in," he explained.

Harry sighed in relief. "Yes, Voldemort was happy about something and was giving me a hard time so I went to the garden and fell asleep under the oak tree. Sorry to have worried you."

"No problem, mate, but you should be more careful...you can't just do whatever, you know? You're important right now and all of that..."

Ron did his best to sound supportive as he said this but Ron was never the best with concern or tact.

* * *

"So," Molly spoke loudly. "Charlie and Ron, you need to stand to the right of Bill. George, Fred and Harry, first three seats on the first row. If...if P-Percy appears we'll..." started Molly with a crying tone. Percy had left the family a year before when there were some disagreements against his boss.

"Mum," Bill spoke nicely and calmly. "He'll be thinking about us, he's just too much of a git to come...he'll come round."

"Of course, of course," Molly said, trying to smile and turning to Harry. "Well, then, let's get ready. By the way, you look lovely in those green robes, Harry."

"Thanks Mum."

Harry looked around the huge tent as he sat down in his designated place. He had to admit everything looked truly wonderful; no one could ever guess that this wedding was being celebrated in the middle of a war. There were about 10 rows of 16 pale beige chairs, separated by a wide aisle covered by a white carpet which would soon be stepped on by the bride. The chatter from the guests stopped as the music started ringing and Harry's mind settled on thoughts about Ginny, he knew she couldn't be happy right now; she must look like a posh and old fashioned fairy in her dress, but, taking that away, Harry knew she'd look beautiful anyway.

* * *

Little Gabrielle started making her away down the aisle, smiling at everyone and making every single person in the room 'aww' at her. Ginny shook her head and turned around to make sure no one was near her. She turned to look at the nearest mirror, taking in how awful she looked, and closing her eyes tightly, pictured a very different dress. Some would say she was glowing at that moment, other would say that she looked like her brains were about to explode from so much concentration, others would look at her like she was suffering mental problems, but every single person's eyes would have gone wide as, without so much as a wand, parts of Ginny's dress started falling gently on the floor, floating in the air like snowflakes.

Ginny opened her eyes, smiled cheekily at herself and made her way to the door, ready to begin walking down the aisle.

* * *

Harry smiled at Gabrielle, who looked like a perfect little princess. The little girl's dress suited her perfectly, the beige colour fit with her pale skin and her fair hair, and she looked like she had just been taking out of a 1930's art piece.

"She looks beautiful, doesn't she?" Hermione whispered in Harry's ear. Harry smiled.

"Yes, the dress fits her perfectly. The one I'm worried about is..."

But Harry stopped abruptly when Ginny came into sight. He felt himself stop breathing and he felt his heart miss a beat and then start beating faster than ever. Ginny came in with a dress made from the same material as Gabrielle's but it couldn't be more different.

Ginny's hair was held up in a bun with several curled hairs fell down her face; Harry noticed immediately that some of her golden highlights had dissapeard and her hair looked more red, more Weasley. Her eyes weren't decorated with as much make up as usual either, Harry could only see a thin black outline around those stunning big chocolate eyes that glistened with the candlelight coming from the corners of the tent. Her lips where coloured in a pale red that seemed to be made for her. Then, when you looked at her body, the biggest shock came.

Her beige dress was completely strapless, leaving her arms and shoulders completely bare and coming down to a revealing and ragged cleavage that showed off Ginny's perfect womanly figure. The back was low and, just above the hip, an improvised belt with a rose in the middle, all made from the same material as the dress, made Ginny's figure even more slender. From there down the dress went out, giving Ginny the perfect hips and, stopping right before the knee, showing of Ginny's amazing legs. To say that she had hypnotized every guy in the room that wasn't a Weasley would be a huge understatement. She looked like an angel...

"I can't believe she did this," Harry heard Hermione whisper to herself as Ginny walked down the aisle.

"What do you mean?" Harry asked absently, not taking his eyes off Ginny for one second.

Hermione shook her head at him discreetly. "Harry, this is Fleur's day, Fleur wanted her to wear the other dress; not only has she spoilt that for her, but she's also taken a lot of her attention away too."

It was Harry's turn to shake his head now, still not taking his eyes of Ginny. "Fleur's a quarter vela, she doesn't need extra attention...besides, Mum must've helped her...I've got Ginny's wand, she can't have done it herself. Mum probably realized it was stupid to make her wear the same dress as Gabrielle."

"No, Harry," Hermione assured him. "I saw Ginny five minutes ago, she was wearing the other dress...trust me, this is her own doing..."

"But how..."

However, Harry didn't get a chance to finish because the Wedding March came on and Fleur came in.

Harry had obviously been right; Ginny hadn't taken any attention away from Fleur. The French woman was glowing and looked completely beautiful, the dress was a little overbearing in a way, but Fleur, never the less, looked breathtaking.

* * *

Ginny knew she was in big trouble; it didn't really take a genius to figure that out, but she knew it was worth it. She needed to create some problems or soon she'd start getting involved with her family, she needed to keep her heart well closed or _he would hurt it and, __he had already taken enough, she couldn't afford to have him steal anymore than he already had._

She caught her dad's eyes and looked away quickly; she couldn't stand the look of disappointment. She was doing this for him, for all of them; they couldn't love her, if they did, she'd hurt them too much and she'd get hurt too. Then, she caught Harry's eye, and she was ready to look away, to try her hardest to ignore him...imagine her surprise when she met an understanding smile and eyes filled with happiness. She shook her head. She knew what was happening; she knew what was happening far too well...she knew what was going to happen when she let him hold her last night, she knew that something would change...she knew everything and yet she let him in, she shared something far too deep with someone and, the worst thing was, she had shared it without saying a word; the tears that came out of her eyes last night and the comfortable silence that surrounded the pair had been enough to let him know more than she ever intended to let anyone know.

Fleur came in. Interrupting her thoughts, and Ginny couldn't help the smile that came to her face when her brother saw his bride, the huge grin that appeared in his face was laughable.

The ceremony went by quite quickly. Even Ginny, who, you could say, was at battle with life itself, had to admit that she had never seen so much love in one ceremony. The intensity of the stares between Bill and Fleur had been just too much for her to even understand.

* * *

She was a little distracted at that moment, she was trying to make her way to her designed table, so it took her by surprise when she felt someone pull her arm and push her somewhere.

"What gave you the right to change the dress?" Arthur Weasley's voice startled his daughter.

Ginny took a second to take in what was happening. She looked around and found herself standing in a corner of the tent, a few metres away from the guests.

"Ginevra..."

"I'm sorry, okay!" she shouted at him far too loudly. She hated being told off in such a small and dark space...it reminded her of _then._

"Sorry doesn't make a difference," Arthur shouted back angrily. He was furious, but, contrary to what most people would think, he wasn't furious at Ginny specifically, he was angry at himself for losing his only baby girl. "Your mother told you to wear the dress that Fleur chose and you agreed...then...you set this up...You lied!"

"I didn't lie," Ginny excused herself. "I'm wearing the dress."

Arthur sighed angrily. "Don't go acting clever on me, Ginny."

The man took his head in his hands and tried his hardest to calm down. Today, he reminded himself, was meant to be a happy day...Ginny was here, she might have done something she shouldn't have, but she was here, safe and sound. He reminded himself that she was a teenager and that problems were normal, he reminded himself that she was still the little girl whom he had wanted to see grow up properly and turn into a responsible adult...he reminded himself that it might be his only chance to help her reach what she was meant to be.

And then, without any warning, Arthur put his arms around Ginny and hugged her, taking her completely by surprise. For a second, Ginny wanted nothing more than to push him away and run, run as far away as she could get...but then she felt it, she felt her dad's heart beat...just like she used to when she was a kid and she hugged him when he came home from work. Now, no matter how much water had passed under the bridge, she could still feel that small thump that used to make her smile.

"I'm not going to ask you to change, but control yourself...please..." begged Arthur, now calm. Ginny, almost subconsciously, hugged her father back tightly and buried her face in his shoulder as she nodded absently.

* * *

"Look, it's Victor!" Hermione exclaimed, walking over to the the table where the grown and handsome Quiddich player was sitting, and leaving Harry and Ron walking slowly beside. Harry would've normally said something that would comfort his best friend, but he was too busy looking around the tent and wondering where Ginny was.

"What are you looking for?" Ron asked in a grumpy tone. Harry turned to look at him.

"Umm..." he muttered for a second, hesitating about being truthful or not. "I was wondering where Ginny was...I haven't seen her and, you know, I don't want her getting into trouble."

Ron nodded absently, looking at Victor Krum and Hermione greet each other.

"She's over there, in the far corner, I think dad's telling her off for the whole changing the dress thing..." the red-head spoke.

Harry smiled and tapped Ron's shoulder in gratitude. "Thanks, mate, and...Just go there and let Krum know who Hermione's with."

Ron looked at Harry for a second, smiled and walked off immediately, putting an arm around Hermione as soon as he reached her.

"Dad," Ginny spoke in a broken voice as she pulled away from Arthur and looked him right in the eye. "I'm sorry, for everything I've been doing..."

"Oh! Ginny, I knew you'd..." Arthur started, but Ginny took a step back, indicating that he should be quiet.

"No, dad...I, I need to be like this, and I'm sorry, I know how much it's destroying Mum and you, but it can't be any other way. I'll try to behave as much as I can...I'm sorry..."

Ginny felt like the oxygen in the atmosphere was simply not enough; she could feel her dad's confused and disappointed eyes burning holes in her skull. She wanted to cry, she could feel the tears spilling in her eyes again...but none of that was comparable to what was really making her angry, the thing that was truly molesting her was that, as much as she didn't want it to be like that, her body was aching to have Harry hold her like last night.

She held her tears as much as she could and ran outside the tent as quickly as her legs could take her.

As she came in contact with the summer night air, she felt a rush of oxygen enter her lungs and tears start falling down her eyes. She wasn't like this! She was strong, she had always been strong, since _that day she had never depended on anyone, never let anything get to her; never let her heart take a blow. She sat down on the floor, head in hands and curled up like a ball._

_Feeling a little down, Ginevra?_

The cold voice sounded in her head and cut through her like a sharp knife.

"Shut up!" she shouted into the cool night. "Leave me alone!"

* * *

Harry knew she was going to cry the moment her lips parted; he knew that she was going to need to run, to get out, but, most importantly, he knew she was going to need him to be near her.

When she ran out he was right after her in a second, he moved around her like she was the centre of the world, like there was no limits when it came down to her.

"...Leave me alone!" Harry heard her shout into the air. A thousand thoughts came to his head...a thousand unanswered questions that worried him to an extent that he had never really reached before, but the strangest thing was he knew he shouldn't ask any questions and he should keep his thoughts to himself...at least for now.

He walked towards Ginny and, just like the night before, he put his arms around her without saying a word.

They stood like that for a few moments. It was lucky the wedding had been in the evening, the sun was never a good companion for sadness. They could hear the music playing loudly behind them, they could even hear shoes banging against the improvised dance floor...but that didn't matter, noises were the last thing on their minds.

"I'm not like this," Ginny told Harry when she had calmed down. She didn't want him to take her for a broken girl, she wasn't a broken girl. "I don't cry. I don't like people holding me, I don't talk about my problems. I...It's been a rough time but I'm not like this."

"I know. I know what it's like to have some times when you're simply not yourself. I've always been a pacific person, calm and tranquil...but, in fifth year, I shouted at everyone, I was always angry and I wanted to hit something so badly all the time...I know what it's like..."

Ginny turned her head and looked straight into Harry's emerald eyes for a second, she wanted to tell him that he had no idea what it was like; however, she decided that maybe that wasn't for her to say. There was about a minute of silence before she got up from the floor and wiped her tears gently. Harry stood up too and looked at her, she looked so beautiful...

"See anything you like, Potter?" Ginny asked him with a smirk, it wasn't hard to realize that he was _appreciating the way Ginny looked; Harry didn't answer immediately, he was still hypnotized by her._

"What?" he suddenly asked, still a little absent. Then, he focused. "No! I mean...I...I...of course, I don't. Don't be ridiculous; you're a Weasley, Ginny!"

"Yes, I'm lucky enough to know my own surname. Will you tell me then...," Ginny spoke with cheek, messing around with him. "What's that supposed to mean?" She said as she took a step forward so that his and her face where close.

Ginny smiled as Harry blushed. "Y-You know what I mean."

"No," Ginny lied, as she tilted her head to the side. "I have no idea what that might mean. I mean...is it that a Weasley is too poor and socially deprived for the very famous Harry Potter."

"That's pathetic, Ginny...what I mean, is...well, you're a Weasley and, in a way, I'm a Weasley too..." Harry tried to explain, beginning to sweat as Ginny came an inch closer every time she spoke.

"Yes, I guess, but then...technically...from what you've told me time and time again...you're a Potter and also a Black, and a Lupin and even a Dumbledore and, well, if you count Tonks and Hermione, you're a Tonks and a Granger too...so, what do you mean when you say that we're both Weasleys?" Ginny continued playing with him as she got even closer.

Harry took a step back only to find the wall of the tent standing behind him. "Yes, I guess that y-you're r-right but...If I'm a Weasley kid and you're a Weasley kid...that makes us siblings, d-does it n-not?"

At this, Ginny simply couldn't contain her laughter as she went the closest she could get to him without touching, Harry was suddenly very distracted with his shoes. "I don't think my brothers look at me like that Harry," Ginny spoke seriously.

Harry went rigid. "I...I...d-don't..."

Ginny smirked and went on her tiptoes. She grabbed Harry's elbows for stability, shutting him up immediately. His emerald eyes and her chocolate ones merged together and their lips, both desiring to meet the others, where apart by inches...centimetres...millimetres...

"THE DEATHEATERS HAVE BROKEN DOWN THE WARDS!"


	6. Chapter 5 :Sirius Black

_*UPDATED*_

**In The Last Chapter:**

_Ginny smirked and went on her tiptoes. She grabbed Harry's elbows for stability, shutting him up immediately. His emerald eyes and her chocolate ones merged together and their lips, both desiring to meet the others, where set apart by inches...centimetres...millimetres..._

_"THE DEATHEATERS HAVE BROKEN DOWN THE WARDS!"_

* * *

**Chapter 5 – Sirius Black**

* * *

"**_The time to stop talking is when the other person nods his head affirmatively but says nothing._**"Henry S. Haskins

* * *

Chaos wasn't a strong enough word to describe what was happening in the Weasley garden. Family members where pushing each other as they tried to apparate safely and no one seemed to stop to care where everyone else was...well, no one except for the Order members, who could only concentrate on protecting Harry.

The boy in question had no idea what was going on. One second he had found himself inches away from kissing Ginny Weasley and the next he was being pushed in the middle of a large group of big people who had made a circle around him and who were shouting sentences that he couldn't understand.

"You need to apparate, boy!" Moody's clear voice shouted at Harry over all the panic. Harry's first reaction was to shake his head, to shout that he needed to see if the Weasleys were okay, but he knew that would only be a waste of time and, maybe, get one of the order members killed. He closed his eyes and concentrated on his body and the Headquarters living room, until his body started spinning.

* * *

As soon as Harry felt something firm below his feet, two pairs of arms embraced him tightly; he didn't need to look to know that the arms belonged to Molly and Hermione.

"Oh, it's so good you're..." Molly started, but Harry didn't let her finish.

"Where's Ginny?" The black-haired boy asked anxiously, opening his eyes and looking around only to find that Ginny was not it his sight. He let go of Molly and Hermione and started looking around the room again.

A step was heard. "I'm here," Ginny's voice came from behind.

Harry turned around and wanted nothing more than to run towards Ginny and hug her, but he was able to rationalize this time. The Weasleys were already looking at him weirdly and he wasn't too sure Ginny would appreciate it.

"I...I'm glad you're o-okay," Harry mumbled, turning back around. "Where's Sirius?" he suddenly asked. His godfather hadn't been able to go to the wedding, but he was meant to be at home by now.

"No need to worry, dear," Molly assured him. "Sirius is in the kitchen talking to Dumbledore and Moody."

Harry nodded.

* * *

"So, where did everyone go?" Harry asked as he sat down at the dinner table.

Sirius sat down opposite him and gave him a half smile. "After the initial panic, I went over there and started making portkeys; luckily no one's been taken."

"Yes," Mr Weasley said as he sat down and everyone started eating. "Bill and Fleur are already at their new house, Fred and George stupidly insisted on staying at the shop and Charlie is helping the Order to send the guests back home safely."

"What about Ginny? Where is she?" Hermione asked, while Harry silently made himself the same question.

"She's upstairs," Tonks spoke as she finished digesting a mouthful of soup. "Said she wasn't hungry..."

* * *

The voice in Ginny's head became louder, each time more mocking and impossible to ignore

"Be quiet! Just leave me alone, please..." Ginny shouted and begged, head in hands.

"_Call the Potter boy, maybe he'll be able to save you..." _

Fury rushed through Ginny's veins and her face warmed, ready to match the colour of her hair. "Keep Potter out of this. Potter is nothing to me, you are nothing to me...my life is nothing to me. I don't want this! I want out, I want to die..."

"_Die? Your suffering is enjoyable, Ginevra. Never to be given up on..."_

Ginny couldn't help but gulp. She closed her eyes and suddenly felt her brain clear itself; the connection was broken for now. She lay down on the bed and curled up in a ball, hoping to fall asleep and never wake up again.

* * *

"Don't worry, Molly, go to sleep, I'll make sure everything gets tidied up correctly," Sirius insisted, making Molly walk out of the kitchen and leave Harry and him alone.

"So..." Sirius spoke as he sat down beside Harry, who seemed to be deep in thought. "How are things? Have you been training?"

Harry looked up absently. "Yeah...not much but I have..." he answered. It didn't take a genius to realize something was up.

"Oh...Okay shoot. What's wrong?" Sirius asked with a raised eyebrow. Harry snapped out of it immediately. He didn't know if telling Sirius was the best option.

"No," he answered quickly. "No, I've just been distracted."

Sirius sighed and moved his chair so he was sitting closer to Harry. The man put his hand gently on his godson's shoulder. He wasn't buying it and he had an idea what this might be about. Two thoughts went through his mind and he decided Harry was probably worried about the second one, seeing as his 'training' question hadn't gotten him anywhere. "Harry, I know you said you were okay, but... I was seventeen not that long ago and I know that feelings at this age mean a lot and..."

Harry did a double take and started stuttering nervously, how was it possible for Sirius to know? "Wait, wait, wait...what are you talking about? Has anyone said anything? Have you noticed just by my reaction this afternoon?" He asked the last question in a softer tone, he was starting to realize that maybe he _was _very obvious.

"This afternoon?" Sirius asked raising his eyebrow again, confused; then, he relaxed and sympathy made its way to the expression on his face. "Is it really that bad, Harry? Are you always thinking about her?"

Harry breathed in and considered that if Sirius already knew how he felt about Ginny, there was no point denying it. "Always? Always is not long enough...it's every single second, Sirius...And it's just so wrong..."

"Wrong? Harry, you're seventeen, liking someone is never wrong," Sirius assured him, patting his back. It was a little refreshing to know his godson was thinking about other things that weren't the war, he needed to live his life.

"What do you mean, it's not wrong? She's so near, but yet she's so far away..." Harry spoke, surprising himself as he saw such deep words.

Sirius frowned. "Oh, Harry...I thought you'd be over it by now, I really thought you'd barely think about her..."

"Not think about her?" Harry exclaimed. "How can I not...she's always everywhere...with that attitude, and those legs and those bloody gorgeous eyes and her breathtaking red hair..."

"Wait," Sirius suddenly said slowly, you could almost see his brain working, trying to understand something. "Susan has light brown hair," he said softly, looking at Harry with kind eyes.

Harry went wide-eyed, surprised at the turn of events. "Susan? Susan Bones? You think I'm talking about Susan Bones?" Harry almost laughed...Sirius thought he missed his ex-girlfriend; if only that was it, all of this would be a lot easier.

"If you're not talking about Susan Bones who are you talk...?"Once again, it was almost possible to see the wheels turning in Sirius' head; suddenly his serene expression became a surprised one. "No..."

Harry gulped, hating the look on his godfather's face. "It _is _bad, isn't it?"

Sirius' eyes looked like they would pop out any minute; he looked both surprised and angry. "Are you trying to tell me that you have feelings for Ginny Weasley?"

Harry gulped again and exhaled, angry at the adult's anger. "It's not _my_ fault."

Sirius stood up and, putting his hands on each of Harry elbows, shook him. "Come on, Harry! It's not about whose fault it is, it's about who _she _is..."

"Oh, come on, Sirius," Harry sighed, he would be the first to admit that the situation was a little problematic, but it wasn't nice to be reminded instead of supported.

"Harry!" Sirius spoke. "This girl is your best friend's sister, your _brother's_ sister! And not only that, she's troubled...you know where Arthur found her...only Merlin knows what she was doing around Europe..."

"Exactly! Only _Merlin _knows; look, Sirius, she's troubled and well...you have to trust that I know what I'm doing," Harry assured him.

"No you don't!" Sirius let him know. "You're falling into her little seduction game, I know what those girls are like, trust me, I've been with plenty of them."

Harry gagged a little. "Too much information, Padfoot. Ginny's not really like that, it's just a mask she hides behind. You don't have to worry; I can work this out on my own."

"Harry! Come on, mate, You look like a love struck puppy. Think about it, man, she's sixteen and basically your sister...not to mention how you've already got enough problems of your own...you _need _to back off." Sirius ordered him.

Harry laughed incredulously. "I can't," he told him with sincerity. "I think she just might be it, Sirius."

Sirius was sure that if he had been drinking water he would have spit it out. "Okay, that's enough, Harry. It can't be; you can't let it be...You know I'm all for having a little fun, but you're losing it here..."

"I can't let it go, Sirius. It's not only how amazing she looks...I actually, truly like her, I just can't get enough of her, even if she's always shouting at me. I...I feel different about her, she's just so...Ginny." Harry spoke absently. Sirius really couldn't believe his godson. He had the weight of the world on his shoulders and he was too busy thinking about a girl...and the most inadequate girl to make things worse.

"Harry...Listen...think of how much good it can do and then think of how much bad...is it worth it? And if it is, can you not wait until this war is over?"

"What if the war ends with my death, Sirius?" Harry asked, now turning serious. "What if I die at his hands with the regret of not going forward with something I wanted?"

"Now, listen to me, Harry Potter," Sirius spoke angrily at his godson. "You are not, under any circumstances, dying anytime soon and even less at the hands of that...monster. Ginny Weasley isn't at her best moment right now, and I'm sure she's probably been playing a few _funny _tricks on you, only because you're the only male in her house who doesn't belong to her family. Harry, please, don't throw your life away because of a turn on..."

"Sirius..." Harry tried but his Godfather wasn't having it.

"Harry! It's not ideal...not right now."

Harry looked up at Sirius and sighed, deep inside he knew that the older man was right. "I'm not going to stop having feelings for her."

Sirius smiled with relief. "As long as you don't pursue them..."

* * *

Ginny looked around and sighed in relief when she saw that the living room was clear; everyone was in their beds, sleeping. The voices in her head had stopped once she fell asleep, but she knew that soon enough she'd be experiencing them again.

She tiptoed across the floor and went into the kitchen, getting a glass carefully and filling it up with water in the dark.

"A late night snack?" A deep voice said, causing Ginny to jump. She spun around and turned the light on, gulping slightly when she saw the man she recognised as 'Sirius Black' sitting on one of the chairs, smoking.

"You're Harry's Godfather, aren't you? Sirius Black?" she asked, regaining her attitude and speaking with her typical character.

Sirius had to laugh at how quickly the girl had gone from scared to 'cool'.

"Yes, and you must be the famous Ginny Weasley who's been stirring things up so much lately. I've heard a lot about you," Sirius laughed as he took another drag at his cigarette.

Ginny smirked. "All bad, I hope."

"Well, mostly," Sirius informed her. He then looked at the seat opposite him. "Take a seat if you want, I won't bite."

Ginny sat down carefully and took a sip of water. She signalled at his cigarette, asking a silent question.

"It's a nasty muggle habit, Lil...Well, a muggleborn friend of mine hated it and I loved annoying her, so..." he explained. A strange silence took over while Ginny finished her glass of water

"Isn't it a bit late to be sitting in a kitchen alone, in the dark?" Ginny finally asked.

"Maybe," Sirius admitted. "It's what Azkaban does to you...I still wake up at strange hours. What about you? I haven't heard of you attending the humble school of Azkaban."

Ginny chuckled. "Well, no, I wasn't lucky enough...but I'm sure you've heard about my _trips _to Europe, haven't you?"

"Yes," Sirius answered. "I unfortunately have, as well as most the people in the Order... it's like a gossip society sometimes."

"Yes, well, I still can't get used to the hours. I had the bad habit of going to bed a little late" Ginny muttered with indifference.

"Yeah, I've heard you had your fair share of fun," Sirius spoke cheekily; he couldn't help it, the girls attitude rubbed on him immediately. He then became a little serious, "I've also heard you're having your fair share of Harry..."

Ginny gaped at him again, but regained her composure quickly. "For your information, I have _nothing_ from your godson...he seems to enjoy bothering me, I've told him to stay away, but he's a stubborn mule.

Sirius couldn't help but laugh.

"What's so funny?" Ginny asked curiously.

Sirius smiled. "Oh, nothing...it's just...Lily, Harry's mother...used to tell James to back off all the time...he just couldn't get enough of her and she had had more than enough of him. It was pretty funny to watch."

Suddenly Sirius's expression went rigid. "But that was then and this that's going on with Harry and you is different. It can't happen..."

"I'm not interested in Harry," Ginny assured Sirius.

"Yes, well," Sirius spoke. "Just make sure you don't lead him on then, okay? Because he's fallen hard for you and he doesn't even know how hard yet. He's a special boy."

"I know who he is," Ginny spoke angrily, she hated being treated like she was stupid.

"I'm not talking about the-chosen-one stupidity...I'm talking about how he is; how Harry is...How he gives everything for those whom he cares about and, I love him...I don't want you to cause him any trouble."

"You don't have to worry about that. Trust me when I say that nothing's gonna happen between Potter and me...my head tells me the exact same thing that you're telling me right now," she told him truthfully.

"Well then, make sure you listen."


	7. Chapter 6 :Theme Park Part I

_*UPDATED*_

**Chapter 6 – Theme Park**

* * *

"I think the thing to do is to enjoy the**ride**while you're on it." – Johnny Depp

* * *

"Just tell me and I'll let it be!" Harry tried for what seemed like the one thousandth time.

Ginny rolled her eyes and continued looking through the book that she had found yesterday. "If I tell you, you won't be _letting it be_," she observed. "Look at it this way, If I let you now then you'll have no challenge to take on, you guys love challenger, don't you?"

She sat down on her bed and relaxed as she continued to ignore Harry, who had been annoying her all morning.

"I've got plenty of challenges without having to worry about you, Ginny. Just come out with it and tell me where the hell you have been sleeping these past two weeks! Hermione says you never come into the room, so you must be somewhere. And I don't believe you haven't slept at all...it's impossible."

"Potter," Ginny spat without taking her eyes of the old damaged page she was supposedly reading. "It's none of your business where I spend my nights."

"Well, if you don't tell me, I'll just tell Mum and let _her _sort it out..." Harry spoke cheekily.

Ginny sighed, took a deep breath, left her book to a side and stood up so that she was facing Harry, or more like his chest, giving the fact that her height only let her see that far.

She looked up and sent him a glare, but spoke in an uncharacteristic sweet voice. "You wouldn't do that, Harry," she spoke seductively, her hand on his chest and throwing her hair to one side; flirting had always come naturally to her, with her looks and her wit, it had been a perfect key that would work on almost every door. She opened her eyes a little and smiled at Harry, making him smile back subconsciously.

The smile however, didn't distract Harry. Of course, it was extremely easy to fall into this little game, all you had to do is look at Ginny for a few seconds and every other thought would evaporate. It was hard to resist, It took all his effort, but he caught her hand in his and placed it back by her side.

"Where have you been sleeping, Ginny?" he asked once again.

Ginny gaped at him. She had seen the look on his face! That look meant that he was falling for her antics, not that he was going to resist her! She took a step back and glared openly at him, almost ready to hiss from all the anger she was holding in.

"You wanna know where I've been, Potter? In Europe!" she lied. "Seeing some real men for a change!"

Harry couldn't help the laugh that escaped his thin lips. "If Voldemort can't get past the wards around this place, I doubt you can."

Harry was waiting for the laugh that would follow his statement, but it never came. Ginny nodded slightly and turned around, grabbing her hair and pulling into a messy ponytail. Her next sentence came out it a low, broken voice. "He hasn't tried. He's a coward," she told Harry.

The young adult caught up with the change of atmosphere and became serious too. This, was one of the things he liked the most about being with Ginny; the two of them worked together perfectly, he always knew what to say and when to say it. "How do you know what he is? You only met his sixteen-year-old self."

Ginny gulped at the memory. "Believe me, that was enough," she spoke in the same broken voice. "Besides, it's a simple observation to make, he sends his dear Death Eaters to do all the dirty work and he only comes in, when the victory is assured, to wave his wand and take the credit for a victim that wasn't even his. He's a repulsive coward, that's what Tom Riddle is."

Harry was silent for a moment

"You say his name, his _real_ name," Harry observed as he looked at Ginny attentively.

"It's the name everyone should give him. He gave himself the name Voldemort because he couldn't stand the thought of being named after a Muggle, he didn't mind people calling him like that until he noticed that it was only the ones who didn't fear him who called him by that name. And don't even get me started on the pathetic You-Know-Who business...fear of a name...it's appalling."

"The war was hard on people; it's just something that's gotten into their heads."

Ginny rolled her eyes and sat back on her bed; this time Harry sat beside her.

"I heard Kingsley and Moody talking to each other yesterday," Ginny confessed as she looked at the ceiling. Harry knew she wanted to say more, so he stayed silent until Ginny felt she could continue talking.

Harry took a moment to look at her while she wasn't looking. The messy ponytail was falling over her left shoulder, the bright red contrasting with her pale skin. She was wearing a pair of shorts, but she had given up on the tight ones and was wearing some baggy blue ones.

She was wearing a normal white t-shirt on top and, Harry had to admit, he loved her casual look, even if she had looked _attractive _in her other clothes, this look was more appropriate; Now, wearing the first thing she found, she looked more 'Ginny' than ever.

"They seem to think I might be working with Riddle..." Ginny spoke quietly, turning to look at Harry.

Harry looked at her and answered her silent question. "You aren't working with Tom," Harry spoke with such faith and sincerity, that it was impossible for it to be a lie. Ginny looked into his eyes and realized that there was no doubt, that he knew she wasn't capable of something like that.

"But you can't be surprised," Harry then suddenly said startling Ginny. "With your attitude and your way of not talking to anyone-"

"I'm talking to you," she interrupted.

"Yes, but only because I'm leaving you no other alternative. The only thing I'm saying, Ginny, is that you don't leave them any choice but to be cautious about you. For them, you are a stranger, they don't know you..."

Ginny bit her lip and couldn't help but let a half-smile show. She turned a little to her left and moved a little closer to Harry. "And you _do_ know me?" She joked.

Harry smiled. "Yes," he told her sweetly, suddenly remembering why he had come out to the room. "But I'd know you better if you told me where you've been sleeping."

Ginny sighed and got of the bed, adjusting her t-shirt.

"Way to kill the mood, Potter..."Ginny spoke as she rolled her eyes and Harry got off the bed. "Look, tell you what, if you don't piss me off until the end of the week, I will tell you where I have been sleeping."

"Ginny..."Harry warned.

Ginny sighed. "Look, Potter, I'm not doing anything bad, okay? I'm being the good girl you all want me to be, it's just that I've never shared a room and I'm not about to start now, okay?"

Harry nodded hesitantly. "But, at the end of the week you have to tell me."

"If you don't piss me off," Ginny now warned, opening the door of the room and leading Harry out.

"That might be hard, there's nothing else to do around here and we've still got a week and a half until we leave for Hogwarts," Harry told her.

Ginny gave him a wicked smile. "Well, then why don't you get us out of here...aren't you supposed to be boy-who-could-do-anything or whatever?"

"Hey! I do all I can!" Harry said before she closed the door behind him. Leaving a sloppy smile on both their faces.

* * *

"I was sitting by the window and I saw a poster of one of those Muggle parks with rides and stuff coming into town," Harry spoke as he ate his dinner.

The people who were enjoying dinner with him looked up. The Weasley parents, brothers and Hermione all looked confused at the randomness of the statement. Sirius looked at him with a disbelieving look, knowing perfectly what his godson was suggesting, and Ginny looked at him for a second and then smiled as she too understood.

"Well that's nice, Harry. Did you mention it for some reason?" Mrs Weasley asked with her typical smile.

"Well," Harry spoke, trying to ignore the disapproving looks from Sirius and setting his eyes on a smiling Ginny. "This morning I noticed how there really is nothing for us to do...I mean...Dumbledore has told Hermione, Ron and me that we won't have any training until we arrive in Hogwarts, and Ginny even started _reading_ this morning...And you won't let us interfere with Order business because you keep saying that we've already got too much on our hands so..."

"You're not going to that fair, Harry...forget it..." Sirius interfered.

"Going to the fair?" Molly spoke in a shocked tone. "Don't be silly Sirius; Harry knows better that to suggest that."

"Actually, Mum..." Harry said. "I _was _going to suggest that."

"Harry!" Hermione exclaimed. "We're in the middle of a war, you know better than to even think of that, right, Ron?"

Ron rolled his eyes. "I don't know 'Mione, Harry's partly right, I don't think I can really spend another day in this house without it starting to seem like a prison."

"Ron, Hermione's right," Arthur spoke now. "Harry, anyone who gives you in will get a good price, we can't trust anyone...you'd need to go with a lot of members of Order members to be safe, and everyone is doing more important things."

"Then we'll go alone..." Harry tried.

"You are not going anywhere alone under any circumstances," Molly made it clear.

"Come on, I think we'd be safer there than here, I mean...Tom probably thinks we're here, but he knows it'd be a waste of time to try and break the wards, and he's too much of a coward to actually come here and start anything; if he has an option, he'll come when he's already basically won...a friend of me made it clear to me not long ago." Harry gave Ginny a smile.

Sirius looked from Harry to Ginny and muttered something like..._should've known_...through gritted teeth. "Harry, you're not going anywhere. It's too dangerous and it's not like you to risk the lives of so many people. If someone spots you, a lot of Muggles will be dead faster than you can say 'snitch'..."

"If I don't go out, those people will probably die anyway."

Everyone around Harry raised their eyebrows at him.

"What I mean is that _I need _this. The end of the war is coming soon and we can stop pretending that it might not end with my death...you've all heard the pro-"

"Harry!" Hermione and Ron interrupted him as they looked at Ginny, who hadn't been told about the prophecy.

Harry sighed, it was time to make something clear. "Okay, this might make you raise your eyebrows even higher at me, but I'm just going to say it once, Ginny is you sister, daughter, may be your friend if she stops being so...well, the point is that she's here and she's a Weasley, which means I trust her completely. So, as I was saying...the prophecy makes it pretty clear that neither of us can live while the other survives, so the one who lives has the same percentage as the other to die...or who knows, we might both die...I wouldn't see that as a bad outcome. What I'm trying to say is that I've been pretty stuck for a while now...haven't gone out in ages. I know it's not a time for partying, but when the war ends and the time comes, I might not be there to see it. So, before I get locked up at Hogwarts, I want a night off, a night off from the whole protection thing, a night off being Harry bloody Potter...just a night, in case I don't have any more."

By the look on their faces, he knew immediately that he'd played the right card. Sometimes it was just too easy.

"Harry," Sirius spoke defiantly.

"Sirius," Harry said in the same tone, assuring the adult that he wasn't changing his mind.

"Maybe, two hours...just to enjoy themselves a little," Arthur spoke.

Molly raised her eyebrows at her husband.

"Arthur...it's dangerous," Molly argued.

"Molly, come on, this is them...Harry has confronted Voldemort before and Ron and Hermione have always been beside him..."

"But..."

"Ginny has confronted him too, and if she could keep herself safe in Europe, I'm sure that a fair won't be too bad. It's a night off, let them be..."

Sirius and Molly looked at each other. Identical frowns on their faces, and they found themselves in the rare situation of agreement. _This_ could only mean trouble.

* * *

"Wow..." Ginny couldn't help but mumble when the four teenagers entered the fair. The four of them had tracking charms on them and, if something happened, Sirius had prepared portkeys to take them back home.

"It's cool, isn't it?" Harry asked, walking beside Ginny.

Ginny laughed. "Not bad, Potter, not bad..."

Harry couldn't help but smile. Ginny looked stunning with the lights of the fair sparkling upon her pale skin and bringing out the brightness in her brown eyes. Her green t-shirt made her hair glow, and the white shorts made her legs look so long that she almost looked tall.

"Harry! Mate, are you there?" Ron asked to his best friend, waving his hand in front of his face. Harry shook his head, getting rid of his absent stare.

"Yeah," Harry answered as he got a smirk from Ginny.

"I was just sayin'," Ron spoke. "That for half-and-hour or so, you and me can head to the roller boaster...

"Roller _Coaster,_ Ronald," Hermione corrected him.

"Yeah, that," Ron continued. "And the girls can head of somewhere else, we'll meet here in, let's say, forty five minutes."

"Okay," everyone agreed.

"To tell you the truth," Harry told his best friend. "I'm pretty surprised that you didn't get Hermione and snuggle up with her on the Ferris Wheel immediately. I mean, you guys are joined by glue lately."

"And, does that bother you?" Ron asked in a strange tone that Harry thought sounded too much like Hermione for his liking.

The boy-who-lived raised an eyebrow. "No... of course not, it was me who locked you in that closet so you could finally get together, remember?"

"Oh...okay then," Ron spoke and continued walking, but Harry grabbed his arm and stopped him.

"What's up, Ron?" Harry asked.

Ron shook his head and tried to keep on walking. "Nothin', mate," he spoke in a very unconvincing manner.

Harry grabbed his arm again, getting angry. "Okay, I'm not gonna ask again, what is _going on_?"

Ron sighed. "Fine...Hermione's worried about you."

Harry had to laugh. "Well, that's not new; Hermione's _always _worrying about me; about everything and everyone for that matter."

"Hey, cut the tone, Potter. She's worried that you're missing Susan..." Ron told him.

Harry rolled his eyes. "Why does everyone seem to think that I'm missing Susan? Man, she was nice and all, and she was a great distraction, but it's not like I relied on her in any way. She didn't even know about the Prophecy, for Merlin's sake!"

"Well, she's also worried about that too..."

"About what?" Harry snapped.

"About you trusting Ginny with the prophecy," Ron spoke quietly, it was hard to hear him over the sounds of the busy fair, but Harry managed.

Harry snorted. "Well, that's a surprise..." Harry spoke sarcastically. "What about you, Ron, do you think the girl you grew up with is a Death Eater too?"

Ron shrugged. "The girl I grew up with isn't the one that you've met, Harry. Ginny would've killed herself if she had known this was to be her future self."

"She hasn't turned into anything different, Ron; she's simply grown up while going through a lot of different things...I would probably be a lot different if Bellatrix had actually hit Sirius with that killing curse in our fifth year, or if the fake Moody hadn't been discovered. It's natural that she's different," Harry explained.

"I guess, Harry...she's just worried," Ron told her.

"Well, tell her to stop worrying..."

* * *

Harry looked at his battered watch as he saw Hermione appearing among the people. His surprise wasn't pleasant as he saw that Ginny wasn't with her.

"Where is Ginny?" Harry asked quickly as he saw Ginny.

Hermione rolled her eyed. "Saw a cute guy and told me she'd see us later."

Harry blinked. "And you left her?"

Hermione raised her eyebrows with an obvious look on her face. "What did you want me to do? Tag alone for a threesome?"

Harry shook his head at her with annoyance. "Where did you leave her?"

"A round thing called 'the dragon'," Hermione answered, rolling her eyes.

Harry shook his head at the girl and walked off, leaving Ron and Hermione behind, looking at each other with some confusion.

Harry pushed his way through the busy fair until he saw what he was looking for...Ginny sat on the ride, flirting with a tall guy who must have graduated not long ago.

He gritted his teeth and shook his head; so much for thinking she could change.

He breathed in deeply and got onto the ride, which would soon start.

Ginny didn't notice him until she heard his voice next to her.

"Come on, Ginny, get out," Harry spoke in a very deep, serious and commanding voice.

The guy and Ginny both looked up at Harry with raised eyebrows. When Ginny realized what was going on, she rolled her eyes and inspired deeply, throwing Harry a nasty glare.

"Potter, I thought we were here to have a good time, now bug off and let me have the nice time I deserve," Ginny spoke harshly before turning around to talk to the guy again.

Harry sighed. "Fine, I just might have to tell a certain few things to Mum..."

Ginny snorted. "There's nothing you can tell Mum that's going to make me let you blackmail me."

The guy, who now looked a little confused, gazed in between the pair.

"Are you like siblings..." he asked, obviously catching on on the fact that Harry had said 'Mum'.

Both of them were about to deny it when a twinkle appeared in Harry's eyes.

"Yeah," he answered coolly, making Ginny look at him like he had lost part of his brain. "Well, more like step-brother...but, she's got plenty of brothers, seven in fact...all older than her and pretty protective too."

The guy suddenly looked a little scared.

Harry laughed. "What was it that they did to the last one who helped you up when you were ice-skating? Oh, yeah, that was the one who couldn't walk straight for a month after, right?" He then looked at the guy. "Don't worry; there was no real permanent damage..."

Ginny smirked and looked straight at Harry. "You don't really think I'd waste my time on someone who would get intimidated by a bunch of redheads, do you?"

The guy, who was now standing up, looked a little contradicted, the girl had started flirting with him and he had flirted back, but he wasn't looking for any kind of trouble.

"Actually, Susan," the young man said, looking at Ginny. "I think I better get going, it was nice meeting you...but this seems personal..."

And having said that, he got of the ride, leaving Ginny glaring at a smirking Harry.

"Susan?" Harry asked with a chuckle.

Ginny glared at him.

"Around Europe I didn't use my real name...Ginny isn't the sexiest name out there; Besides, my life's been all over the place, using other names made living without a conscience easier...'ve just grown used to it..."

Harry frowned. "But that's your past; Ginny... you've got the opportunity to start over, what's the point in being someone who you don't want to be all over again."

Ginny raised her eyebrows.

"What gives you the impression that I did not like my old life? I adored my visits to Europe, Potter; I did them because I wanted to, no one forced me or had me locked anywhere like..."

"If you went to Europe and did what you did is because you haven't got over what happened in the Chamber," he surprised her.

"That's pathetic, what does that have to do with anything?" Ginny spoke unconvincingly. "Besides, it happened five years ago...I'm well over that."

"Then why do you wake up with nightmares, or hear voices in your head," Harry spoke seriously, all trace of a smirk or smile gone as he looked deeply into Ginny's eyes.

"That's none..."

"Of my business," Harry finished for her. "I know; but I also know that inside you there's a really good person, someone who hates the other side of you, the side that has a fort built around her."

"You're no poet, Potter, or a psychologist, for that matter; so stop trying to get into my head."

Harry frowned and opened his mouth again, but closed it when he felt someone tap his shoulder. He turned around to find the owner of the ride behind him.

"Either you get in or out, but I'm afraid we need to start, boy," the man said with a strong Scottish accent.

"Sure," Harry spoke, before getting into the small 'carriage' with Ginny. Ginny, however, had other plans and started to get up.

"No way," she simply said as she started to move away. Harry quickly grabbed her arm.

"Please, Ginny, stay..." he begged her, searching for compassion in her eyes.

Ginny knew that this wasn't right, the reasons why Harry wanted her there weren't supposed to exist. She had tried so hard to stay away, to never have to look at Harry Potter again, she had lied to herself as she swore that she hated him; and yet, here she was, wanting nothing more than to sit beside him and lean against his broad chest.

She could almost hear _his _petrifying laugh in the distance, knowing that he had her and, therefore, him too...just like he'd done before.

"Please, Harry, let me go..." she spoke begged but with no strength or conviction.

The black-haired seventeen-year-old only pushed her towards him as the ride began moving.

"I'm not letting go, Ginny, I'm never letting you go ever again."


	8. Chapter 6 :Theme Park Part 2

_*UPDATED*_

**Chapter 6 – Theme Park (Part 2)**

* * *

_"I think the thing to do is enjoy the ride while you're on it" _**JOHNNY DEPP**

* * *

"Merlin, this stuff is delicious," Harry spoke as he ate his big pink stick with cotton candy.

Ginny wanted to say that it wasn't, that she didn't want to be sharing anything nice with Harry, that she didn't want to even look at him, but, given the fact that she was finding it more than impossible to lie to Harry Potter, she remained quiet.

Harry looked at her for a second and then looked down at the ground in, what seemed like, defeat; however, a second later he was looking at her again.

"Can't you at least pretend to have a nice time? Come on, Gin..." Harry spoke.

Ginny raised her eyebrows. "Gin?" she said with a half-smile on her face.

Harry chuckled and passed her the cotton candy so that she could have some, she looked at it hesitantly for a moment but, after showing an expression on her face that seemed to say 'to-hell-with-it', she took some in her hand and ate it, licking her lips and taking more a second later.

"Nice, isn't it?" Harry asked.

She couldn't help but smile. "Don't change the subject," she suddenly said. "Where's that 'Gin' business coming from?"

Harry shrugged and shifted in the bench he was sitting on so that he was closer to Ginny.

"Well, I guess that I _could _call you Ginev-"

"Not Ginevra," Ginny suddenly said, calmly but with a trace of anxiousness and fear. "It...It gives me the creeps."

Harry chuckled, although he could tell that the reason it gave her 'the creeps' was not funny at all. "Well, I kind of like it but not for daily use, just for special occasions. So, as I was saying...it's your full name, which is to special for normal moments, or shortened versions...and then it comes down to Gin or Knee and...Knee just doesn't sound good, if you get me."

"And why not 'Ginny', you know, my name, the one everyone calls me," she spoke as if everything else he was saying made no sense to her.

"Well I'm not like everyone else so, why should I call you the same as everyone else?" he spoke with grace.

Ginny couldn't help the laugh that came from her lips. "Right, true, you're unique... 'the-boy-who-lived,'" she said, exaggerating the title.

He moved nearer to her. "That's not what I meant... I meant, I'm different to everyone else when it comes down to you. Trust me, no one knows what it is that I feel about you," Harry paused for a second. "Man, not even I know what it is that I feel about you."

Ginny was silent. She knew it was the perfect moment to tell Harry that it wasn't going to happen, that she knew that she had been flirting and that she had made it seem that she was interested, but she wasn't. She knew, that right now was the time to listen to what Sirius had told her, to listen to her head, to think about the danger they would all be in if she connected with Harry any further. Sadly, she couldn't bear the lie...she couldn't bear to look into those emerald eyes and let him down just like so many people had before.

She gulped and opened her mouth.

"Sorry," he suddenly said, lifting his hand up in defeat. "It was a stupid thing to say."

Now, _that _was it. _That _was the perfect moment to murmur something friendly but harsh that would stop all that was getting out of control, and she knew it, but something inside her just didn't let her push the truth in and the lie out... it seemed like her insides were just too full.

"No," she smiled as she shook her head. "Not stupid, just incredibly corny."

Harry looked at her unbelievingly as a huge grin appeared on his face.

"Let's go to the Ferris wheel... there's still half an hour to go," he spoke, standing up and putting a hand forward so Ginny could take it.

Ginny looked at it for a second and then looked up to Harry's face, which reflected all the light from the different rides around them.

She bit her lip and placed her hand over his.

"Fine, Potter, let's go..."

* * *

"Hey look, that's Grimmaul Place!" Ginny shouted as she pointed at a block of houses a few houses that looked tiny from the top of the Ferris wheel.

She leaned over the bar, pointing into the distance and leaning too far forward, causing her to lose her balance and let out a little yelp.

"Be careful!" Harry exclaimed holding onto her hips and pushing her back down to the seat. "There are enough things out there that want to kill you for you to kill yourself on a Muggle ride."

Ginny caught her breath, still a little shocked by her loss of balance; she looked at Harry for a second and then laughed.

"Don't sweat it, Potter... there's always you to show up as the hero and save my arse, right?" she spoke with a hint of sarcasm, but, more than anything, humour.

Harry chuckled. "As long as I'm there..." he spoke sincerely looking at Ginny smile and not being able to help his own lips to curl up into a similar smile.

Ginny looked back at him and found her own reflection mixed with the different light, in his outstanding eyes. She looked down for a second, but Harry reached out for her chin and pulled her head up.

"I've already told you, I'm not going anywhere," he spoke with a small smile tugging at his lips.

Ginny really wanted to shout. What was this? It truly seemed like she had been stuck in one of those Muggle movies that always ended up being criticized for being a bad cliché. She wasn't like this; she wasn't the typical girl to be wrapped up in this summer romance with this boy who was obviously falling for her badly. This all just seamed surreal... wasn't it she who was doing all she wanted five months back, not daring to listen to any conscience or feeling that could evoke inside her. Nothing seemed right anymore, and yet she couldn't help herself from looking into those emerald eyes and wondering what it could be like, imagining the 'what ifs' of the future... what if she forgot everything, what if she ignored the obvious reasons why all that was going on could only lead to disaster.

She thought back to the first time she saw Harry, thought back to that summer where all she could do was fantasise about the idea of the next school year, of how the amazing Harry Potter would sweep her of her feet and they'd ride of to the sunset on a white hippogriff. But, then, _he _came into the picture and –

"Ginny, are you okay?" Harry asked as he saw her eyes staring straight past him, as if she was hypnotised.

Ginny hated herself. The minute she'd started thinking about her first year, it all came running back and she felt _his _presence fill her, murmuring words that made her fear and feel like an eleven year old again.

"Gin? Ginny?" Harry asked again, his worry increasing. Lost as to what to do, he grabbed her arm softly and whispered her name again.

As Harry's hand came in contact with the soft skin of her arm, she felt some slight tinkles at the contact and then she remembered Harry again, she remembered the feeling he made her feel; and, surprisingly, as thoughts of Harry filled her mind, she felt _him _leave slowly, trying to hold on to a piece of her mind; however, he was gone in matter of seconds.

"Um..." Ginny suddenly muttered, causing a sign of relief to come from beside her, where Harry was sitting, still with his hand placed firmly on Ginny's arm.

"What the hell was that?" Harry asked her.

Ginny gulped and shook her head. "No..."

"If you say 'thing' I really am going to get angry... Ginny, you lost yourself for a minute there... you were like hypnotised or something."

Ginny looked down. "It's okay; really...I was just lost in thought..."

She looked up at Harry who was still looking at her incredulously.

"Come on, Potter, it's okay..." she tried again, but Harry still looked like he wanted an answer.

She signed and looked up at the black sky; she looked at the only star in sight and closed her eyes. She thought about how she had just felt... how it had felt when Harry had invaded her thoughts and _he _was gone so easily, without any portkeys, or European men...maybe, just maybe, Harry could keep _him _away... maybe, just maybe, she could actually be normal again, be able to live again just like...

"Okay, Gin, now you're just ignoring me," Harry spoke with frustration.

Ginny shook her head again as a smile that for once reached her eyes formed on her pale face. She turned around, causing Harry to blink when he saw the expression on her face.

"I'm sorry," she muttered sincerely."I was thinking about pathetic stuff... the past and, you know... things that are better left to be."

Harry didn't know what was going on, but he would almost dare to say that his purpose for the last few weeks, getting Ginny Weasley to open up to him, was actually working. He looked at the brilliant smile on her face, the way her small white teeth shone through the night and gave him that feeling in his chest that had almost become permanent now. He still had no idea what this was, what this whole thing was going on about... was it all some silly joke? His life had never been perfect; since he was eleven, he had always had people that loved him around but, still, sometimes the pressure of everything made him feel alone, empty... now, with Ginny, it was like he had never been alone. She had this way of joking, speaking, acting... that lead him to believe that she actually understood. Did that even make sense? He gulped slightly as Ginny's brown eyes looked straight into his own and made a quick decision. He didn't know why she was giving him a chance tonight, why she was actually opening up, but he knew he needed to show her it was alright and that he loved her this way, that he wanted her this way.

"Please, Harry..."

That did it, his name spoken by her lips for the first time, sending euphoria through his veins. He breathed in and, looking straight into her eyes, leaned in... turning his head around and getting ready to plant his lips on hers.

Ginny realized what he was doing, and suddenly felt how everything around her seemed to dissolve, she felt all her worries evaporate, and a grin tugging at her lips in a way it never had. She wanted to laugh, laugh out loud for the first time in ages, but, as she looked at his lips, she felt the urge to stop any laugh and just press hers against them.

"Harry!" Hermione's voice shouted, bringing both of them back to reality.

Harry breathed in, shook his head and turned around... finding that they were almost on the ground and that Hermione was just a few metres away, glaring at him in a way that seemed to say 'what-the-hell-is-going-on-with-you'.

Ginny stood still, not really believing what she had been about to do; however, she couldn't stop the urge of wanting so badly to try again.

"Hermione has an excellent sense of timing, doesn't she?" Ginny asked sarcastically.

Harry turned to look at her. "I don't know, does she?" he asked her, obviously asking Ginny if she had wanted that kiss.

Ginny looked at Harry hardly for a second.

"I...Maybe, it's just-" she started before getting interrupted by the owner of the ride telling them that it was time to get off.

Ginny got off first and headed towards Ron and Hermione; Harry followed her in a slight awkward fashion.

"Hey," Ron greeted Harry and Ginny as they reached them. Hermione proceeded with the glaring. "It was lucky Hermione saw you up there, I was already heading the other way..."

"Yeah," mumbled Harry. "Lucky..."

Ginny looked back at him for a second and then looked back forwards. "So, where are we heading to?"

"The little hill things on the left of the fair, we'll take a portkey from there," Hermione explained. "Mr. Weasley told Ron where exactly, so you and he can lead and Harry and I will follow you."

Ginny eyed Hermione for a second, but decided it was better not to get into any kind of fight right now, so she just kept on walking.

Meanwhile, Hermione grabbed Harry's arm and pushed him back a little.

Harry sighed, knowing what was coming. Hermione was like a sister in so many ways that sometimes she was more his family that Ron himself... she cared for him so much, that sometimes he couldn't stand her perpetual annoying attitude. However, as everyone knew, they loved each other a lot and Harry knew that she didn't mean to hurt him or annoy him in any way; she was just looking out for him.

"What in Merlin's name are you thinking, Harry?" she started with a low growl.

Harry bit his lip as she waiting for an answer.

"I'm waiting here, Harry," she made him realize. "Please, just tell me that you were trying to see her eyes better or something like that."

"I was trying to see her eyes better or something like that," he replied as he continued walking, gaining a second later a smack on the back of his head.

Hermione shook her head at him with frustration. "Harry, she's Ginny Weasley..."

"Yeah," Harry stated. "I know that."

Hermione stopped and forced Harry to look at her.

"Harry, please, what is going on with you? First this fair thing, then you telling her the prophecy and now trying to kiss her... do you realise who she is? And more importantly, what she could be doing? How troubled she is?"

"You're a little late for this, Hermione, Sirius has already given me this chat and, as you can see, it really has not been worth a thing," Harry let her know, starting to walk faster so that he would not lose sight of the two red heads walking a few metres in front of him.

"Harry, I'm worried... Look, I know that she's attractive and I know you're probably missing Susan, and I know that..." Hermione started explaining, but Harry cut her off.

"You know _what_, Hermione? That each time I think about her, something weird invades my chest? That since I saw her red hair, I just can't help but run my fingers through it? That for the first time in years I actually think I have reached a point where something tells me that I can beat _him_?"

"Harry," Hermione suddenly whispered, thanking God that Ginny and Ron were too far away to be able to hear his outburst.

"I know how it sounds, Hermione, I really do. I know that it sounds like some stupid teenage boy crushing on a pretty girl and making it all into a cute romance movie where the girl is what he's needed all along, but I don't care... maybe it's true... maybe she's helping me recover my loss of innocence or whatever... the only thing I know is that that girl is helping me get through the day without picturing my death and I'd like it to keep on like that."

Hermione looked to the ground and then placed a comforting arm on Harry's shoulder.

"What about _her_, Harry? And, no, this isn't about the fact that half the Order thinks she's probably a Death Eater... I'm talking about her falling for you... and we both know that no matter how she's been acting around all of us, you've already managed to break her wall down... is that really fair? I thought that you were relieved when you and Susan broke it off because you wanted her to be safe. And, more importantly, Harry, are you sure this isn't another one of your 'saving people' things; I mean, she obviously needed saving and, you're doing just that... saving her."

Harry looked down at the ground. "I...I don't know, but I'm fed up of him winning; I'm fed up of him dominating my life, interfering in all my decisions... I know it's slightly immature to think another way because that's what I am, above all, I am the one who has to bring him down, but... for the first time, I've got the feeling I've met someone who doesn't want to let him interfere either, who actually understands me perfectly and... I don't know, I just want to have something that is worth fighting for."

Hermione looked up at Harry and then put her arms around him tightly.

"Be careful," she whispered in his ear as he hugged her back.

"Hey!" Ron's voice suddenly called out above the hectic noise of the fair. "We've got a Portkey to reach and I don't appreciate your hands on my girl, Potter."

Harry pulled away and laughed as Hermione and he tried to make their way forwards through all the people.

As they reached them and Ron and Ginny continued walking, Harry took Hermione's hand and pushed her closer to him, whispering something in her ear. "I know it just sounded like I'm about to get married to her, but nothing's happened, nothing at all so...if you could..."

"Not tell Ron?" Hermione asked with her know-it-all smile.

"Please?" Harry asked with a begging tone.

"Wasn't planning to anyway," she stated. "I mean, come on, whatever this is, I'm not going to let it ruin you and Ron, or you, Ron and me...I'm just going to let you sort it out... I think you deserve the faith I'm going to deposit in you."

Harry smile and pecked Hermione on the cheek, making her laugh.

"Thank you, sis," he thanked her with a laugh.

"No worries, Harry."

* * *

Harry felt the familiar tug, and before he knew it, he was face down on Gimmauld Place's living room.

"Oh, Arthur, Sirius! They're here!" Molly Weasley's voice resounded through the house.

Harry sighed and turned around on his back, only to find Ginny standing up and offering him a helping hand to stand up.

"How come you didn't fall down?" he asked as he stood up with her help.

Ginny opened her mouth to say something, but Harry interrupted her as he closed his eyes, trying to supreme an image coming to his mind. "Yes, Portkeys through Europe... I know..."

Ginny couldn't help the small laugh that escaped her lips.

"Well," she said with a smile. "I was going to say that I just have too much class to fall down like that, but I think you're version makes a lot of sense in more than one way."

Harry sighed and closed his eyes again, trying to supress yet another image.

"Hey, kiddo," Sirius' voice appeared behind Harry. "Ginny," Sirius's voice came again, nodding politely at Ginny.

"Mr Black," she responded in the same bitter but polite tone.

"Please, Sirius will be more than perfect...I'm actually thinking about changing my name, right, Harry?"

Harry chuckled. "Yes," he told Ginny. "He's decided to change it to 'Sirius "White"'... but, then of course, when I explained about 'Snow White' he..."

"Snow White?" Ginny asked. "Don't tell me, Muggle thing, right? Leave it to them to come up with something as original as 'White Snow' but the other way around."

"Well, Ginny, dislike Muggles much?" Hermione, who was standing behind them asked.

"Dislike Muggles?" Ginny said, turning around and finding that her parents and Ron where also listening attentively. She gulped, realising that they probably expected her to come up with some crude remark. She thought for a second and then a smile tugged at her lips. "Not bloody likely after eating that candy _gloss_ thing at the fair tonight. Anyone able to invent that is worth my admiration."

After a small shocked silence, the first one to speak was Mrs Weasley. "Well, dear, that's fantastic, but please keep swearing to a minimum around me...I beg you."

Ginny bit her lip. "Sorry."

Molly Weasley looked at her daughter and couldn't help but smile. She could almost see the girl she had brought up there... behind the makeup and the tight clothes, despite the dry humour and the sarcasm... she could see that wonderful girl everyone had loved so much.

"Very well, are you children hungry?" she asked them all.

"No, like Ginny said, that candy thing was delicious," Harry spoke. Hermione and Ginny nodded and then all heads turned to Ron.

"I'd rather enjoy a midnight treat when my stomach wakes up in the middle of the night... I mean, it's going to do it anyway, so..." Ron murmured.

"Well, okay then, goodnight..." Mrs Weasley said as she walked up the stairs.

"Goodnight," came from the remaining.

"Yes, I'm following," Mr Weasley said.

"And so are we..." Hermione spoke, taking Ron's hand and walking behind Mr Weasley. "Goodnight, guys."

"Goodnight," Harry, Sirius and Ginny said in unison.

"So," said Sirius once the rest had left. "Aren't you two tired?"

"Yes, I just have to talk to Ginny about something..." Harry said, eying Sirius carefully.

"Harry," Sirius spoke in a warning tone.

"Sirius," Harry responded in the same tone.

Sirius just shook his head. "Fine, kiddo... Goodnight to the two of you."

"Goodnight," they both replied.

That was when they were finally alone, just like on the ride.

"You know, I'm really not sure how long this is going to last," Ginny suddenly said.

"What?" Harry asked cautiously.

"You know _what_... this whole being happy and nice thing. For all I know, I could wake up tomorrow in a foul mood and I'd be a bitch again... might even be a bigger one than before..." she warned him with a smile.

"Well, what is it that's keeping you like _this _today, then?" Harry asked as they both sat down on the bottom step of the staircase. "And please don't come up with something pathetic and untrue, I mean we both know-"

The minute Harry felt her eyes on him, he stopped talking and turned around to meet her intense stare. The only light surrounding them was the twitching one of the entrance hall, and he could rarely see her face, but her eyes stood out, big and powerful against the darkness.

"You just asked me what's keeping me happy," she whispered, looking at him intently.

Harry nodded slowly, agreeing with her statement.

Ginny breathed in deeply.

"I think it's you," the red-head simply said as she leaned in and slowly, with care, pressed her lips tightly against his.


	9. Chapter 7 :The Kiss

_*UPDATED*_

**Chapter 7 – The Kiss**

* * *

_"A kiss is a lovely trick, designed by nature, to stop words when speech becomes unnecessary" _**Ingrid Bergman.**

* * *

"I think it's you," Ginny simply said as she leaned in and slowly pressed her lips tightly against him.

Harry felt his blood heat up, burning the skin around his body. They were actually there, he was actually kissing her... just to think of that had been a feeling close to ecstasy, and now sitting here doing it was indescribable.

He pulled apart for a fraction of a second, questioning emerald eyes searching for brown, but before they could find them, they were kissing again, this time more hungrily and with more passion. His hands in her hair and her tongue seeking his... both of them having done this before and yet never having felt so inexperienced.

For her, it was the first time to actually feel something that wasn't lust as she engaged in this kind of activity, it had always been rushed, always been an introduction for the next level, this was completely different; yes, it was hungry and passionate, but she could feel Harry wanting her to enjoy just as much as he was.

For him, it was the first time to feel so lost as to how to make it perfect and yet so involved and ready to follow any lead... he felt like he was floating, like he would be able to reach anything.

Ginny felt the need to breathe and pushed away slowly, somehow untangling her hands from his hair and vice versa. She blinked, and then found herself looking at Harry, who had the cutest sloppy grin decorating his face.

"Goodnight, Potter," she spoke with a smile, getting up and walking up the stairs, leaving Harry smiling absently behind.

* * *

Ginny ran up three flights of stairs, touching her lips absently as she smiled in a way she had never smiled before. She reached the attic, opening the door and stepping inside, closing the door behind her and smiling as she saw her entrance cause Buckbeak to cheer up. She walked towards the hipogriph and patted him softly, caressing his back in a calm manner.

"You're one of a kind, you know that, right?" A voice was suddenly heard coming from the dark corner of the room.

A second later, the man stepped forward, into the spotlight coming in through the small circle window.

"Sirius?" Ginny asked, slightly shocked.

Sirius stepped forward and caressed Buckbeak too. "So, can you tell me how the hell you managed to get a bed up here? Because I'm pretty sure you haven't carried it and I know that supposedly you're not allowed to use your wand, so..."

Ginny gulped. "I'm sorry... I just didn't feel like sharing a room and decided I'd crash up here... I'll go..." she tried to get out of it.

However, Sirius grabbed her arm and stopped her from leaving. "You haven't answered my question..."

Ginny signed, she should have known it would be harder than that. "I can't tell you, okay? I can promise you that it's not a danger to anyone in this house and that it's nothing dark."

She tried to leave again, but was stopped like before.

"I'm sorry, that's not good enough. Maybe it would be if there was nothing going on between my godson and you, but there obviously is and... I love him like my own son, Ginny, and I have nightmares about losing him in this war every single day... I can't let you near him unless I'm sure that you're not a threat; until I know that you will help him win this war; that you'll be on his side..." Sirius confessed.

Ginny looked at him with blazing eyes. "The only ones who aren't on his side are death eaters and I'm not a death eater... that's all you need to know. Look, I get it, okay? He's already got enough on his shoulders to have to deal with me, but... so do I, and he helps me and I seem to help him so, contrary to what I've believed since my first and last year at Hogwarts, I'm going to let this take the course which nature decides is better."

Sirius looked down at the ground. "What is it that's going on with you, Ginny Weasley?" he asked more to himself than her.

Ginny walked towards the bed in question and sat down. "I can't tell you that because... I wouldn't really know what to tell you...well, I would but, I'm pretty sure that if I put it into words, it would just turn out like craziness and... I think, if I told you, you might be in danger."

Sirius sat down beside her.

"Is this about Voldemort, is he controlling you in any way?" he asked with worry as he saw the truth behind the Ginny Weasley he'd met. He saw a scared girl who genuinely cared about someone other than herself.

"No," she spoke sincerely. "Not controlling me... and, I don't even know...I...Sirius, I don't know a thing, I just know that for a long time I've had to take... _drastic _measures... to keep myself from losing it and, now, just thinking about Harry makes it all okay."

"Wow..." Sirius said to himself.

"What?" Ginny asked with a sad smile.

Sirius looked at her. "Your dad... it's just... a few weeks before you arrived, he was talking about you, describing how you had been before and... I think I just realized that you're actually that girl," he spoke quietly, not really knowing why he had decided to say that. "Ginny, don't hurt him, okay? Whatever you decide to do, don't hurt him... he's already been hurt enough by too many people."

"I'll try," she spoke as Sirius started leaving. "Sirius!" she called out.

"Yes?" he asked as he reached the door and turned around.

"Don't tell anyone, but... the bed... I used wandless magic...I...it's just something I do..." she confessed without really knowing why.

"How? Wandless magic? I mean the Ministry..." Sirius asked, looking slightly shocked.

"I don't know..." she simply responded truthfully.

Sirius looked down at the ground and then back at Ginny.

"Sleep tight, the two of you," he simply said, patting the Hippogrif and leaving.

Ginny blinked and put her head in her hands, it was like she could feel the walls she'd been working on for so long breaking around her and, for once, it didn't make her feel scared or unsafe, it made her feel free and whole.

She stood up and leaned her head against Buckbeak's.

"Yeah, goodnight, boy..."

* * *

Ginny walked down the stairs slowly, making sure no one saw where she was coming from, she wasn't quite ready to let people discover her favourite place in the house just yet.

She walked into the bathroom and looked at her face. She hadn't remembered to take the makeup off yesterday, so she found her face was coloured in a strange way. She sighed and leaned down, turning the tap on and putting cold water on her face.

She then proceeded to turn around and look at herself in the full body mirror. She was wearing light blue jeans and a black tank top which fit her perfectly; however, she could feel herself shivering from the cold air that covered the house inside and out. She found herself surprised that she didn't have any sweaters here... she had left the only two she had back at the Burrow as she hadn't expected any kind of cold in August.

After a few seconds, she put her hair up in a messy ponytail and walked out, finding herself looking into the room that Harry and Ron were staying at; however, at that moment, it was empty, with the door standing in front of her wide open.

She cautiously took a step forward and peeped inside, meeting a very messy floor and beds that remained undone. She took another step inside and found a Chudley Cannons t-shirt lying on top of the left bed; she guessed that was Ron's, so she looked at the other one and found a worn and oversized sweater lying near Harry's bed. Without thinking it twice, she put it on, finding it huge on her, but feeling extremely comfortable.

* * *

She walked down another set of stairs and entered the kitchen, which was occupied by most of the Order and the Weasleys.

Harry, who was currently eating his cereal, looked up at Ginny and couldn't help but smile. He shifted to a side, leaving a space for her beside him.

She looked down at the ground for a second. She had stayed up all night thinking about the path she was about to take...she was going to give up an attitude that had taken her years to build, she would let them in, without pushing them or forcing them out. She knew the risks but, then she started thinking about her life before the Chamber, about the love and the way that there was always a source of comfort somewhere. She had then spent over an hour thinking about the boy who had brought all of this on... the boy who had made her rethink what she had been sure was the only way to escape. Six years ago, she would have jumped up in the air to just think that she would get a chance to talk to Harry Potter, let alone kiss him and, now, it seemed like the most normal and right thing to do.

She smiled at him and walked towards the space he was saving. He looked funny with that grin, his hair even messier than normal and his brown and white hoodie.

"Good morning," she said as she sat down.

"That's my sweater," he spoke quietly with a smile.

"I know," she stated. "I was cold and I couldn't resist the urge when I saw it on your bed."

"What were you doing in our room?" he asked her over the loud noise that everyone else was making in the kitchen.

"Curiosity... the door was wide open..." she answered as she took an apple from a bowl of fruits on the table and bit into it.

"So," Harry simply said, not really knowing what to say after last night's incident.

"So..." Ginny repeated with a smile.

Harry bit his lip but suddenly a thought came into his head. "Hey, you haven't told me where you're sleeping..."

Ginny laughed. "I'll tell you later if you're good..."

Harry smiled. "And what does..."

"Hogwarts letters, everyone..." Arthur Weasley's voice was suddenly heard entering the kitchen and causing four heads to look his way.

Surprisingly, in his hand was only one letter.

Everyone fell silent as he started reading it out.

"_Number 12, Grimmauld Place._ _Whoever It May Concern__,__"_Mr Weasley read out with a confused expression on his face. "Albus told me that the letters would be sent differently this year. One per house and I guess it will also have a code once you open it... for obvious safety reasons," Sirius explained, given the fact that he had been talking to the headmaster about the plan for Harry's training this year just yesterday.

Arthur opened the letter and, just like Sirius had said, found a small sentence written on the page.

_Those Who This May Concert must touch the parchment._

Doubting slightly, Arthur passed the parchment to Hermione, who was surprised as letters began appearing.

"_To Hermione Jean Granger..." s_he read out.

She then passed in to Ron who dirtied the parchment with jam.

"Harry, you go now..." Arthur said as he saw his youngest son's name appear.

Harry touched it as he looked at Ginny, who was looking back at him. He smiled as he recognised the familiar texture of the Hogwarts paper; Hermione had told him various times that the letters were written with normal parchment, since it said so in 'Hogwarts a History', yet, Harry could always feel something special on the letters, like he could feel the magic that surrounded them.

"And, Ginny..."Arthur said a little quieter, as if fearing the girl's reaction.

Ginny looked at her dad and then back at Harry, taking the paper from him carefully and then, a second after her name appeared, passing it to her dad

Molly smiled. "Fantastic! What does it say, dear?" she asked her husband.

Arthur cleared his throat.

"_To Hermione Jean Granger, Ronald Bilius Weasley, Harry James Potter and Ginevra Molly Weasley._

_Due to the current situation the Wizarding World finds itself at, this school year will be treated differently than others, starting with the annual letters; there have been given out per household instead of per student. There has also been a code put on them in case they were to fall in wrong hands._

_This year it will not be necessary to buy any books, for they will be given to the student__s__ at school. We inform you that, no matter what year the student is in or the options he has taken, Defence Against the Dark Arts will be taught every day, by two different professors. _

_The uniform will consist of:_

_Three sets of plain robes (black)_

_One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear_

_One pair of protected gloves (Dragon hide or similar)_

_One winter cloak (Black, silver fastenings)_

_Underneath their robes, there will be no need to wear any formal uniform, it would be appropriate to wear muggle clothing that permits the student to move comfortably._

_We must warn all students as well as parents that Hogwarts is a school that stands against He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named; however, all students who attend will be kept in safety and sent away immediately if Hogwarts__ were__ to be attacked. Having said this, also note that any death-eater activity found in Hogwarts will not be tolerated and will lead to the imprisonment of the student in question._

_This year, a portkey that will lead to __P__latform 9 ¾ will be sent to each household; please do not attempt to cross the barrier__,__ for it will be closed. _

_No RSPV is necessary._

_Yours sincerely,_

_Minerva McGonagall__  
__Deputy Headmistress_

_PS: Head Boy and Girl will be announced on the first of September at the welcoming feast."_

"Well," Molly Weasley was the first to break the silence. "Seems like this year will be a special one."

"Yes, it will," Sirius spoke. "There are a few factors that will make it surprisingly special."

"Blimey," Ron commented as he ate his second piece of toast. "Like the spot for DADA teacher isn't already cursed enough, and now they get two teachers! Who'd you recon they are, Harry?

"Maybe, Snape," Harry spoke absently.

"No," Mad-eye said as he stood in the corner of the room. "Kingsley and me have just been to see Snape and he's taking this year off, devoting himself to other duties."

"You mean he's..." Hermione started but Mad-eye cut her off.

"That's confidential information, Granger," he snapped, eyeing Ginny.

Harry was about to say something but, surprisingly, it was Charlie Weasley, who was making his way in, who cut him off. "Everyone in this room is an Order member or a Weasley, and obviously Harry and Hermione know perfectly well what Snape is doing so... I don't see how the term 'confidential' fits in here, Mad-eye." Charlie spoke in a clear tone.

Ginny looked at his brother with a surprised look. He smiled and winked at her.

"That's an opinion that I respect but, sadly, Weasley, I don't share it," Mad-eye spoke before apparating.

Arthur shook his head angrily. "Well, okay... let's just continue eating breakfast..."

"Squirt?" Charlie spoke in an unsure manner.

Ginny gulped slightly, realizing he wanted to speak to her; she nodded and walked with him into the dark living room.

* * *

"I'm sorry for the other day," Charlie said as he leaned against the bookshelf. "I was surprised to see you, angry at myself for not seeing you before, angry at you for leaving... and, you know, this whole war atmosphere isn't helping."

Ginny looked at the ground. "Yeah, I guess I... I'm really the one who should be sorry. I mean, two weeks ago I was still settling in... finding myself with the whole family after dad found me... and, well, Harry going all hero-like saviour on me... which I totally appreciate and stuff. But, I'm not used to this... it had... has been a long time since I've actually had a family and I'm still trying to get into it.

"And now you're heading off to Hogwarts, back again to land of nightmares, right?" he asked, making Ginny raise an eyebrow at him.

"Shouldn't you be telling me that it's the best thing to do and that I'll be very happy there?" she asked him with a smile.

Charlie couldn't contain himself as he saw her pull off that remark with that sweet face that he remembered so clearly. He took a step and wrapped his arms around her.

"I missed you, Squirt," he said with a broken voice.

Ginny was a little taken back at his action and considered pulling away, but then realized how much it would hurt him if she were to do that, so she wrapped her own arms around him and felt her mind return to those days when seeing Charlie had been the highlight of the week, when he would catch her in his arms and twist her around and around until they were both dizzy.

"I missed you too, Charlie," she confessed as she held on to him tightly.

In the doorway stood Arthur and Molly Weasley, smiling as they saw what they'd been dying to see for weeks, a sign that she was back. From the top of the staircase, Sirius smiled as he saw the scene developing below him and, finally, from the entrance hall, Harry was smiling in the brightest way he ever had. He felt like he had truly succeeded, like he was valuable and could actually do something. He looked at Ginny holding on to her brother and somehow suddenly knew that things were going to be alright. Ginny had made him whole again, she'd made him realize that something important was missing, and she had filled that missing space up before he could have time to lament what was missing. He still couldn't explain what he felt for Ginny, but as he looked at her, standing there in his own green sweatshirt and a messy ponytail leaving her wonderful fiery red hair hanging loosely down her back, letting her true self out without any fear, it all just seemed to click in a way it had never done before... he was in love with this girl.

* * *

"If it had been James to tell you to stay away from her," Sirius's voice filled the library, making Harry look up from the book he had been reading. "Would you have?"

Harry looked down at the book again before closing it slowly and setting it aside. He put his legs back down on the floor and sat up, leaving space for Sirius on the leather couch. Sirius took it.

"You know I can't answer that, Sirius... for all I know I could've have been like any other teenager and not listened to my parents... things would be a lot different if Mum and Dad were still here," he answered philosophically, showing once again the man he had become.

Sirius sighed. "I know, I know, but I meant..."

"I know what you meant," Harry confessed. "And you're not doing anything wrong. Sirius, since you came into my life, you have been nothing but a pillar of support, you know that... I don't know how I would have dealt with everything if Pettigrew hadn't been found, I really have no idea what I would be without you. And, as crazy as it sounds, even if I had used the resurrection stone and spoken to Dad... I don't think he could've stopped me from falling for her; Ginny has something, and it makes me feel powerful, it makes all my doubts go away, I think I'm in love with her."

"Wow!" Sirius exclaimed with a smile on her face. "Take it slow, Potter... I'm seeing you on one knee soon enough, at this rate."

Harry laughed. "Just imagining how hard it would be to put a ring on that one makes me want to stay far away from that idea."

Sirius laughed too. "Maybe I was wrong," he confessed. "To tell you to stay away from her... maybe, you're right... there's something about her, this kind of... strength... that makes me think she might be what's right for you.

Harry smiled and looked at his godfather. "I kissed her last night," he confessed. "Well, she kissed me, but..."

"Yeah," Sirius acknowledged. "I thought she looked a little bit too peaky when I saw her afterwards."

"Saw her afterwards?" asked Harry. "Where? Oh, so _you _know where she's been sleeping?"

"Yeah," he answered. "But I'm going to let her tell you that herself."

Harry smiled and decided that, now that Sirius had accepted the situation, it would be best not to give him a reason to regret it, so he changed the subject. "You know who the new DADA teachers are?"

"Yeah, one of them, but that's another thing I'm gonna let you find out for yourself. You're gonna be thourouly surprised."

"It's Remus, isn't it?" Harry guessed. "I mean, he's been working undercover for ages and Dumbledore suddenly decides that now he won't be doing that anymore."

"Well... that does seem like a reasonable explanation..." Sirius spoke with a twinkle in his eye.

"I knew it," Harry smirked with a laugh as he realized Sirius was confirming it.

"Wait there, Harry... I haven't said anything," Sirius lied.

"Yeah, sure you haven't," the seventeen-year-old spoke sarcastically. "But... wait, wait, wait... does Remus know who the other teacher is?"

Sirius shook his head. "No clue about that one. Only Albus knows that one, he said it's a _surprise._"

Harry smiled as he stood up and imagined Dumbledore's eyes twinkling as he announced the other teacher. "It's a pretty random guess, but I think I may have it."

Sirius looked surprised. "Who?"

Harry laughed and started walking out the room. "I'll leave that for you to find out by yourself," he said, imitating Sirius as he walked out of the room.

* * *

Ginny was looking for Harry. She had spent the morning cleaning up a room with Charlie and later on she had had to pack her trunk, making her unable to speak to him since that morning.

She didn't really know what was going on. Why did she even want to talk to him in the first place? _That's even dumb, for you, _a voice in her head said, and, for once, it wasn't a horrible deep voice, it was herself, _she was really back to being herself_.

So, she agreed with the voice. She knew what was going on; that emerald eyed boy was breaking every brick of her security wall and she couldn't help but love every second of it. The feeling of normalcy, of being just one teenager more... it was so liberating, that it was bordering on overwhelming.

So, she had to find Harry... so that she could forget about feeling overwhelmed and just feel like herself.

"Gonna show me where you sleep or not?" Harry's voice asked from behind, startling Ginny.

When the shock came off she laughed. "That pickup line is far too... little original," she told him.

"Little original?" Harry asked with a raised eyebrow. "Probably... however, if you must know and not be so witty... it was not a pickup line, Miss Weasley, it was simply a question."

"Worst come back ever," Ginny laughed. "But, I liked it, so... if you would go up the stairs, Potter."

Harry started going up. "Well, thank you very much for the invitation."

"You're welcome."

And that's how they both started talking, about pointless subjects...not mentioning the previous night activities but keeping it from mattering because there wasn't one awkward pause.

They didn't speak about important things, not their pasts or their futures or their present outside of the house. They spoke about things that others would've been incredibly bored about. But talking to each other never seemed to get old or boring; it was just natural, just meant to be.


	10. Chapter 8 :Hogwarts

_*UPDATED*_

**Chapter 8 – Hogwarts**

* * *

_Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus –** JKR**_

* * *

"Hey," Harry spoke as he entered the attic and walked towards Buckbeak, patting him gently as he looked at Ginny, sitting on her trunk. "We're leaving in ten minutes."

She was wearing a pair of light blue jeans and a high neck, thin, black jumper, which made the hair that was flowing down her shoulders stand out like fire in the night.

Ginny nodded absently as she continued looking down at the ground. She looked a little lost in thought.

Harry eyed her curiously, with some worry beginning to build up in him.

"Gin?" he asked, trying to gather her attention.

Ginny looked up suddenly, and gave Harry a half-smile. She had been thinking about Hogwarts and she had felt an unwelcome guest enter her mind a few minutes back, so she had sat on her trunk, buried her head in her hands and thought about Harry and her, joking about random things the night before.

"You okay?" Harry asked her.

She nodded as she stood up. "Just thinking about things..."

Harry nodded in understanding. "Hogwarts?"

Ginny bit her lip. "Things..."

Harry nodded. "Fine, well...stop thinking about things and get downstairs, Dad's coming up to the rooms to send the trunks directly to Hogwarts with a portkey Dumbledore sent."

"Fine, then..." Ginny spoke as she walked towards Harry, and they both descended the stairs.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Harry asked.

Ginny turned to him angrily. "Yes, I'm perfectly okay, don't you have your own business to butt into?" she snapped at him as she continued walking. Harry stayed still, looking at her with a mix of shock and disappointment. A few seconds later, Ginny stopped too and turned around, looking a little guilty.

"I..." she tried.

Harry gave her a dismissive nod. "I know. It's hard to drop the attitude..."

"It's not..." Ginny spoke. It had nothing to do with her _attitude; _it had to do with what was coming and how quickly it was coming at her.

"It's whatever you're ready to say it is," Harry told her. "It's a great place, Gin... You know it is...You have to have good memories from your first year too... focus on them."

"Good memories? Not bloody likely, Potter. Think about it," she said with a light tone. "What have I got to choose from: Having my brothers ignoring me, having no real friends, sending you a Valentine's corny enough to make it on a crappy TV soap or being... well you know?"

"I know," Harry spoke taking her hand. "And I'm so happy to finally know it was you who sent that 'original' valentine."

Ginny hit him playfully. "Mention it ever again, and you're dead."

Harry faked a scared expression. "No need to go into that kind of treatment..."

Ginny laughed and looked at Harry intently. They hadn't kissed again since that first time on the stairs, but she knew it was only a matter of time before it happened again.

"That look is definitely asking for something," Harry spoke with wit.

"Being corny again, Potter..." she warned him as she leaned a little into him.

"You know you love it..." Harry muttered in a husky tone. "Okay, far too corny..."

Ginny laughed. "Yeah, but, you're right...It's just what I need right now."

She went on her tiptoes and placed her lips firmly on top of his. He smiled against her lips and pressed his body closer to hers, putting one hand on her back and another in her hair. He lost himself in the kiss; it was like eating your favourite type of chocolate, but never getting full... always wanting more. Harry didn't really know what they were doing, he knew he was most probably in love with the girl, and he knew that she liked him a lot, but he also knew that there were a lot of loose strings hanging around, loose strings that needed to be tied up correctly and slowly, making sure that none of them become loose again.

Her tongue asked for entrance and his lips got ready to part.

"Ginny, Harry, are you...?" Molly's voice came into the room and was cut off quickly.

Harry and Ginny jumped apart quickly, ready to see a shocked Molly Weasley looking straight at them.

There was a pregnant pause.

"We're going to be late," Ginny finally said. She looked at Harry for a second and then walked towards the entrance hall, where Ron, Hermione, Remus, Arthur and Mad-eye were waiting.

Harry remained still, looking at the woman who had given him almost everything. He didn't know what he would be without her, and he couldn't stand the idea that he had disappointed her in some way.

Molly Weasley was looking at her honorary son with a mixture of calmness and something else that Harry couldn't really place, something that wasn't happiness, but wasn't sadness either; it was like she had just seen something she had been expecting, not something good, not something bad, just something.

"Mum..." Harry muttered, trying to say something, anything, to excuse his actions or make her understand.

"Later, Harry," the matriarch simply said before walking off to the entrance hall as well.

Harry followed her out and, after sharing a quick look with Ginny, he grabbed on to the boot that stood in the middle of the room and started spinning.

* * *

"Okay, people," Remus shouted as the group reached their destination. "As you see we're not at King's Cross. We needed to be safe."

Harry looked around and saw groups of people arriving the same way as him. Everywhere he looked, the air suddenly became reduced and a blur of robes, hands, legs and faces suddenly became a group of people stumbling on the floor or walking down from an invisible staircase, it reminded him a lot of Arthur, Cedric and his father after the world cup portkey. As he looked around, he realized that they weren't at Kings Cross, they were in the middle of the countryside, standing beneath a floating ceiling. The train was waiting for them on the rails but, unlike it always had, this year the smoke wasn't disturbing anyone's view, it was dispersed in the outside air.

"In five minutes we have got to be seated on the train, so hurry up with the goodbyes..." Remus finished. Harry, who was kneeling down after the portkey, felt a hand reach out to him. The instant he took it, he knew it was Ginny's.

"Shouldn't you be more used to Portkeys by now?" she asked with a smirk.

"Shouldn't you be less used to them?" Harry came up with a comeback easily enough.

"Fine..." Ginny chuckled. She looked like she was about to say something else, but Harry stopped her.

"I've got to go talk to Mum, coming?" he asked her seriously.

Ginny shook her head, clearly meaning to say "No-way-in-hell".

"Gin, you've got to..." Harry started.

"I've got to say bye to Sirius... see you in a minute," Ginny spoke quickly, walking towards the shaggy black-haired man who was currently hugging Remus.

Harry rolled his eyes at her, but decided she needed to confront her feelings about her parents in her own time. So he headed towards Molly Weasley alone.

"Mum," he spoke, making the woman turn around quickly. Harry gulped, but as he looked at her, he felt a smile tug at his lips, it was funny to think that this loving and caring woman, who barely reached his shoulder, could be so intimidating. However, the smile disappeared as he began talking. "What you saw before..."

"What I saw before," repeated Molly, placing a delicate hand on Harry's, and seeming surprisingly calm. "It's what I've been seeing since the moment you confronted Ginny the week after you arrived."

Harry blinked. She... was she actually saying that she had known since then? Not even Harry had known three weeks ago.

"H-How could you have...?" Harry asked.

"A mother always knows, son," Arthur's voice suddenly surprised Harry as he put an arm around his wife and looked at him. "And, for that matter, so does a father. When we asked you to call us Mum and Dad it was because we love you like any other one of our sons and, therefore, know you as well as we do them."

Harry was stunned and pretty much certain that this was too surreal to be true.

"Just... be careful, Harry," Molly inquired. "She hasn't been too close to love, and you have so much in you, that you might scare her away."

Harry smiled and Molly pushed him into a big hug while the seventeen-year-old looked at Arthur, who had put one of his hands on his shoulder.

"Just look after yourself...and her..."

Harry nodded as he continued hugging Molly.

* * *

Meanwhile, a few metres away Ginny was laughing at something Sirius had said.

"Nice to know," she confessed as she laughed.

Sirius then reached inside his coat and took a folded piece of white paper out of a pocket of his jacket. Ginny looked at him strangely as he offered it to her.

"Unfold it," he invited her.

She looked at him for another second and then proceeded to do what Sirius had asked her to. Much to her surprise, what she found was a magical photo.

She recognised the people in it immediately... it was hard not to, even if she had never seen them before, the baby in it was the perfect mixture of the two grownups and she would recognise that baby anywhere. She looked at the Potters for the first time in her life, and her first thought was that Lily Potter looked an awful lot like her. She shook her head and told herself that it was only the hair, and the shape of the face, she guessed...but, those eyes, they made the biggest difference; she realized that no one, no matter how similar... would ever be the same as Lily Potter, eyes like those only flowed in family and she knew then, for a fact, that there was only one human who had those eyes, and he was hugging her own mother at that moment.

Then, she looked at the photo as a whole. James and Lily Potter were looking down at a little baby, a baby dressed in light blue pyjamas, with his small fists trying to grab his mother's hair, a mess of black hair on the top of his head, his eyes nearly closed but open enough to see the emerald colour and a laugh on his lips. She then realized that, even though the couple looked like they were as happy as it gets, they both had dark circles under their eyes and Lily's eyes were red, dried tears resided on her cheeks.

"This..." Ginny muttered, not taking her eyes of the photo. "A special and nice moment in the middle of a really bad moment, right?"

She asked. Sirius let out a sad chuckled. "You remind me a little of her..." Sirius muttered.

Ginny looked up then. "Lily?" she asked, already knowing the answer.

"Not only physically," he confessed. "I mean, when you first came, with the strange clothes, I didn't even realise that you looked so alike, now it's different, I can see that, but... what I mean is that you both have this kind of aura, this way of being naturally smart, observant without realizing it... you're quite a bit like her."

Ginny didn't know what to respond to that so she approached a different subject. "What's this for, then?" She asked him, lifting the photo.

Sirius took it and then pointed at the couple who had been two of his best friends. "It's the Potters... but I can see you've already figured that out. It was the first time Harry laughed, he was only two months old or so; I know he looks older, it's that crazy hair."

Sirius looked like he was lost in thought for a second.

"And why do they look like they haven't slept in days?" Ginny asked, taking him out of his trance.

A frown appeared on Sirius' face. "They had spent the night arguing. Dumbledore had just told them about the prophecy." Sirius put two fingers over the bridge of his nose, massaging it slightly. "James wanted to become the secret keeper when they went into hiding; Lily wanted it to be her."

Ginny suddenly looked confused.

"The Secret Keeper isn't protected by the charm," Sirius explained. "They both knew that they'd be safer if one of them was the secret keeper but they both loved the family the same, they couldn't reach an agreement. That was when that little guy laughed and they realized that they worked together, they needed to be protected as a whole."

Ginny nodded in understanding, but looked confused again when Sirius passed her the photo.

"I want you to have it," he told her.

"Why?" she simply asked, taking the photo in her hands.

Sirius leaned against the pillar. "I've never shown this picture to Harry; he's seen all the rest, but not this one, I keep telling myself I'll give it to him when he needs it. You see, Harry has this way of blaming himself for things, if I tell him what I've just told you, he'll blame himself for his parent's death even more, he'll come up with the crazy idea that if he hadn't laughed, maybe one of his parents could have survived, or, who knows, maybe both of them."

"But," Ginny spoke, surprising herself, "this photo means something completely different. It means that he kept his parents together, that he meant more than anything to them."

"That's exactly what I've been waiting for," Sirius told her. "For a moment when he'll see it like that and not blame himself but, I think, for some reason, you'll be able to find that moment better than I will."

"Me? How the hell am I..."

"I've already told you, you and Lily... it seems like you'd do what she would do, you can't go wrong there. Besides, I think it'll help you too, if something goes wrong between the two of you... you've got it to remind you that there's always something that will keep you together," Sirius confided in her. He then pulled her into a hug.

"Look after him," he begged her.

"I-I'll do the best I can..."

"Hey, Gin?" Harry's voice was heard, causing Sirius to let go of the petite redhead. "Think it's about time you say bye to someone," he told her.

Ginny turned around to look at him. "What's the point, Harry? There's unsolved business and you know..."

"I know that they want to say goodbye to you, so, go," he simply told her.

She bit her lip but, after an encouraging smile from Harry, she turned to Sirius, went on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek.

"See you around, Mr. White," she joked, then headed towards her parents.

Harry laughed and Sirius joined in with him.

"She's special, that one is..." Sirius admitted.

"I know," Harry spoke with a smile. "Trust me, I know."

"Harry," Sirius suddenly became Sirius.

"Yeah?"

"She needs you and you need her; but I don't want you to forget your priorities... keep her near you, but don't lose focus, we only need the cup, and the minute you're ready... and you need to be ready soon, because people are dying... we're gonna get it. There isn't much left of this war, Harry," Sirius told him clearly.

"Don't worry, Padfoot, I'm going to do this, when it comes down to it, I don't care if he takes me with him... he won't be here to hurt the people I love," Harry spoke with complete faith.

Harry leaned in and hugged a man he loved too much for his own good. "Keep yourself safe, Prongs."

"You've got to stop calling me that," Harry told him, still hugging him. "I'm not him, Sirius."

"I know that, Pup," he said pulling away. "But, you look too alike to ignore it. I love you, Harry."

"So do I. be careful, okay? I don't think I could go on without you."

"You've got them," Sirius said referring to his best friends and honorary family. "And now you've got her too... God, if you ever have a kid I'd love to see a little girl with red-hair and your eyes."

Harry raised his eyebrow. "We've got to survive the year first, Sirius, and a few more years after that, for that matter."

"Sure, sure," Sirius mocked. "But you two are too much of a copy of Lily and James to not end up getting married, hopefully you'll have a happy ending."

Harry shook his head at the man. "You're crazy, you know that, right?"

"Always have, always will be," Sirius laughed. He placed a hand on Harry's shoulder. "Concentrate and I'll see you in two weeks for your training."

As if on cue, Remus suddenly shouted it was time to grab the portkey.

Harry turned around and smiled as he saw Ginny hugging her parents. She then turned around and walked towards the train.

* * *

The four teenagers were sitting in a compartment of the Hogwarts Express. He was surprised to see that Remus wasn't with them; however, he dismissed the thought quickly enough.

"Genius!" Hermione suddenly exclaimed. "How clever of Dumbledore, we still travel on the Hogwarts Express, but we don't go to King's Cross.

"Yes, it is clever," Ron admitted. "But, isn't the middle-of-nowhere dangerous too?

"Ronald, don't be silly," Hermione reprimanded him. "Dumbledore obviously put wards up to not allow dark magic into the area. No Death Eater could've gotten in, and he couldn't have sent us straight to the train; just imagine how hard it would be to get everyone perfectly seated on a moving train if we had all come from different places.

Harry, seeing Ron was about to answer something back and get into a fight with her, stopped them.

"Well, hey, guys...aren't you nervous about who's gonna make head boy and girl?"

"Well, we all know it's going to be Hermione, don't we?" Ron spoke.

"But," Ginny's voice suddenly contributed. "Won't Dumbledore think that Hermione's already got enough on her plate? I mean, it's pretty obvious that, if it comes down to Harry and Tom, you two are gonna be beside him, so, won't you need to train with him and stuff?"

The trio looked at Ginny. "I, guess..." Ron answered. "But Hermione's a genius, Ginny. If she doesn't get head girl... it's just that, no one else deserves it apart from her, not really."

Harry saw a smile appear on both his best friends' faces as they looked at each other.

"Thanks, Ron," Hermione spoke.

Harry and Ginny immediately realized that it was about time to leave them alone. They looked at each other for a second.

"Come on, Gin, let's see if we can introduce you to some people," Harry quickly said, taking Ginny's hand.

"See you later, guys," Ron spoke as Harry and Ginny left and closed the compartment door behind them.

* * *

"How long have those two been together?" Ginny asked with a chuckle.

"Since last year. You see," Harry started telling her as they stood in the passageway. "Ron started going out with this girl called Lavender, from our year, and Hermione didn't... take it too well. I think she would've never taken the step, but, well, even I was in a relationship with Susan, and it was Ron or Viktor Krum."

"Krum?" Ginny asked, her eyebrows risen so high that you could barely see the left one under her side fringe.

"Fourth year, Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, they came for the Triwizard Tournament," Harry explained quickly. "I think that was the first time that Ron realized that he was pretty much in love with Hermione."

"Wow..." Ginny murmured. "So, you're trying to tell me miss-goody-two-shoes, the smartest girl in Hogwarts, chose to steal Ron away from this Lavender instead of just owling _the_ Viktor Krum?"

"That's just love, and, trust me... those two had far too much sexual tension to let it go any longer..."

Ginny laughed and Harry joined in with her. She was about to say something else when a voice was heard down the passageway.

"I told you that was Harry's laugh," Neville Longbottom announced as he peeked his head out of a compartment. He then proceeded to walk toward Harry and Ginny.

"What's up, Harry?" Neville asked with a smile.

"Hey, Nev, good summer?" Harry asked. Somehow he had ended up with his arm around Ginny, both of them leaning against the passageway wall.

"Yeah, you know, the typical," Neville answered upon realizing that Harry was talking to someone that looked familiar to him, but he didn't recall knowing.

Harry realized that Neville was looking at Ginny.

"Neville, this is Ginny Weasley, Ron's little-"

He received a glare from Ginny.

"Ron's _younger _sister," Harry continued. "You might remember her from our second year."

"Yeah, nice to see you," Neville greeted her, holding out his hand. Ginny took it, shaking it a little before letting go.

"Neville Longbottom, right?" she asked. "I remember you from my first year."

"Um...yeah..." Neville simply commented. Harry realised that the boy's insecurities around girls were kicking in, so he decided to say something.

"So, who are you with, in there?" Harry asked, pointing at the compartment that Neville had come out of.

"Oh! Just Luna, Dean, Colin and Hannah, Dennis was in before, but he went off somewhere a few minutes ago," Neville informed them.

Harry nodded in understanding.

"Hey, where are Hermione and Ron?" Neville suddenly asked.

Ginny laughed. "Right now? Probably in the middle of a pretty heavy snogging session."

Neville blushed and Harry laughed with Ginny.

"Hey, Nev, do you think there's space for Gin and me in there?" Harry asked politely and Neville nodded immediately.

"Sure thing, Harry," Neville spoke quickly with a smile as he led them to the compartment, opening the door for them.

Inside it, Hannah was listening to something Luna was saying with a look that seemed a little sceptical. Opposite them, he could see Dean and Colin, who had his camera on his knees, comparing muggle and magical photos and trying to give motion to a picture Dean had just drawn.

"Hey, guys," Harry greeted as he came in behind Neville. Ginny was still standing hesitantly in the passageway when Harry signalled for her to move forwards.

"Hey, Harry," answered Luna, looking up to him, the others followed. "How was your summer?" Hannah continued. Harry and she had become good friends during the time he dated Susan.

"A little boring with my muggle relatives, but it got pretty good when I went to the Weasleys for Bill and Fleur's wedding," Harry explained. "Oh, yeah, this is Ginny Weasley..." Harry introduced the red-head, putting a hand on her back and bringing her into the compartment.

"Colin?" Ginny suddenly said as a smile appeared on her face. She had heard Neville say that there was a Colin in the compartment, but it hadn't occurred to her it would be Colin Creevy.

"Wow...Ginny? Is that really you?" Colin spoke, standing up.

"The one and only," Harry answered. "I thought you'd probably remember her."

Colin then sat back down and moved to a side, leaving some room for Ginny. Harry looked at him for a second, hating to admit it, but knowing he was looking for any threat to what he and Ginny had. However, Colin's eyes only showed happiness and surprise; on the other hand, Dean Thomas was looking at Ginny in a way that Harry had seen way too often to dismiss it as curiosity or any other innocent thing.

Harry sat down next to Neville and looked at Dean. "Hey, Dean? Where's Seamus?" He asked.

Dean looked up from Ginny and up to Harry, his eyes suddenly looked lost, filled with sadness, a small comforting sad smile appeared on his face. "I thought you might have heard, but...his mum was murdered trying to protect his dad, you know, they're blood traitors, his dad's a muggle after all, so he and his dad tried to run away."

"Did he...?" Harry asked aimlessly.

Dean shook his head. "But he died fighting, it's what he would've wanted, and it was quick... no Cruciatus."

Harry put his head in his hands. "I... God, Seamus!" he shouted to himself as he punched his own leg.

Dean nodded. "I know, Harry. I know..."

"What about you? Have you had any problems?" Harry asked the dark-skinned boy.

"Dumbledore helped put up so wards around my place, not like the ones around yours, obviously but... well, I'm not really that wanted, besides, my family...They've changed their names, to Thomson, you know...just in case," he stated.

"Susan's done the same," Hannah then said. "Changed her last name to Graham just in case."

"I thought she was abroad," Harry then said, Ginny realized he sounded a little... angry?

"I'm not sure, Harry, she _was _abroad... but I got an owl a week ago... it simply said 'Everything's okay, count with me if you need anything', It was written on the back of a pamphlet, I only knew it was from her because of the writing. But, Harry, I could tell that the owl wasn't tired and the pamphlet was about a concert in London."

"Damn, it!" Harry half-shouted again. "I told her to get as far away as she could."

"She can look after herself, don't worry, Harry... She'll be okay," Hannah announced.

Harry nodded, looking at the ground, and Ginny observed him... she was going to have to ask him about this Susan.

* * *

About 20 minutes later, Harry and Ginny made their way outside the compartment. As they walked down to their own, Ginny stopped him.

"This Susan girl? She's the one you dated last year, right?" she asked, 'causing Harry to raise an eyebrow at her. _When had he told her that?_ Almost as if she was reading his mind, Ginny answered his silent question. "You told me about it twenty minutes ago, when you were talking about my brother and Hermione... so, what's up with you and her?"

Harry leaned against the wall, facing Ginny. "Why? You jealous?" he asked wittily.

Ginny didn't laugh. "No, I was just curious, but if you don't want to..." she began saying as she started turning around. Harry grabbed her arm and pushed her back opposite him.

"I'm sorry...I get it, you want to know..." he confessed. "But," he said, "if I tell you this, you're gonna owe me something too."

Ginny was silent for a second. "Okay," she said hesitantly. Harry took one of her hands, just for the sake of feeling her skin.

"Susan and I... much of her family was killed by Voldemort, so, when I formed, or more like Hermione formed, the DA... we got to know each other and we dated for quite a long time, we had our differences, she wasn't exactly my ideal pair; I mean, she wasn't exactly a coward, but, God, was she far away from brave, and, whenever I got down, it was like I only brought her down with me, she couldn't really bring me up. So, last year her mum and stepfather decided to go abroad after her aunt was murdered... and it was kind of ideal, because I was scared that what we had might put her in danger," Harry explained.

Ginny fidgeted with the hand Harry had put in hers. "Did you love her?" she asked as she looked into her eyes. She felt stupid asking that, she knew it was pretty pathetic, but she had to admit that she was anxious to know.

"In a way, yes...'course I did," Harry confessed, he could swear that he saw her jaw tense as she looked down but he didn't want to get his hopes up. In case he was right, he took her other hand and squeezed it, making her look up. "I was with her a year and a half, Gin; she was someone really important in my life, but so was Padma. And then, when you think about it, so are Luna and Neville...look, Ron and Hermione aren't really my friends, they're my family, the rest, Susan, Hannah, Padma, Nev, Dean, Parvarti...Seamus," he spoke, his voice breaking a little. "They're people who stand near me, who I care about, but... as horrible as it sounds... if I lost them, it wouldn't be like losing Ron or Hermione, or..."

"Or...?" Harry wondered.

"Or you..." Harry finally said, not caring if he scared her.

Ginny blinked twice and then raised her eyebrows. "Harry, no matter how infatuated you are with me, you can't say I'm more important to you than people you have known your whole life, it's just plain impossible," she assured him.

He knew he was entering dangerous territory, but he continued speaking. "You just asked me if I loved Susan and the honest answer is that I thought I did... until the first time I actually talked to you."

Ginny looked at him for a second. She knew he was serious about her, she wasn't stupid, she had seen the way he looked at her; but she wasn't ready to hear what he was telling her. "Harry, I-I...I'm not...I can't..."

Harry squeezed her hand again and then dropped her left hand so he could push her chin up and caress her cheek gently. "I know, I'm sorry...The only thing you need to understand is that Susan was, to me, what most 16-year-old girlfriends are... someone you normally remember fondly and who helped you grow up, but you never hold deep feelings for."

Ginny was still silent, so Harry looked around to see if anyone was around and, after making sure there was no one, leaned down to peck her lips very quickly, without giving her time to respond.

"Come on, Ron and Hermione are probably wondering where we've gone by now.

* * *

Ginny felt the need to start chewing gum and putting her attitude as she sat at the Gryffindor table next to Harry and people kept sneaking glances at her and murmuring.

Underneath the table, Harry's hand met hers and he leaned down to whisper in her ear. "Ignore them."

She looked at him and mouthed a simple okay before the sorting hat was placed on the famous stall she had sat on 5 years ago.

The hat immediately jumped into its song.

"_Again, we're gathered here beneath__  
__This great, enchanted ceiling__  
__There's thunder, lightning, heavy rain__  
__That none of us are feeling._

_My task this year, as years before,__  
__Is choosing your rightful place__  
__To help you conquer and endure__  
__The tasks you're soon to face._

_The Hogwarts founders, long ago,__  
__Trusted me with this task__  
__Though now I think it may've been__  
__Somewhat unwise to ask._

_I fear this may be the last time__  
__I can so frankly speak__  
__For there are those among us all__  
__That hope for our defeat._

_And so, before I sort you,__  
__My other task is clear__  
__To say the words that Dumbledore__  
__And I feel you must hear._

_Ravenclaw have shown us__  
__Any problem can be solved,__  
__While Slytherin has long defined__  
__The advantage of resolve._

_Gryffindors know well that fear's__  
__Nothing to be afraid of,__  
__And Hufflepuffs know just as well__  
__What true kindness is made of._

_A thousand years these houses stand__  
__On these few strengths alone,__  
__But great minds and hats think alike__  
__Weakness is what we've shown._

_The unity of our four houses__  
__Hangs by just a tether,__  
__True greatness, power and victory__  
__We only achieve together."_

Harry's hand was still clutching Ginny's hand and, as the hat finished, the two teenagers looked at each other, the last few words of the hat still repeating themselves in their minds. "_True greatness, power and victory__. __We only achieve together"_


	11. Chapter 9: Start

_*UPDATED*_

**Chapter 9 – Start**

* * *

"We shall not cease from exploration. And the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time." **T. S. Eliot (1888 - 1965)**, _Little Gidding_

* * *

Ginny's eyes opened slowly due to the sun that was coming in; yet, it didn't take her a second to close them back and turn around in her bed.

A minute or so later, she opened her eyes again and sat up a little, putting her arms around herself after realizing it was a little chilly. She was only wearing a small top, since it had been boiling hot last night; however, she could tell that the weather had dropped down a few degrees.

"You might want to start getting ready," a voice suddenly said. "Breakfast started half-an-hour ago and class starts in forty-five minutes."

Ginny looked at the girl, who had her back turned to her and was unpacking stuff from her trunk. The girl was wearing her pyjamas too but she had a toast resting on the night stand beside her. She had short black hair and was thin; she wasn't a tall girl, maybe even a little smaller than Ginny, and that was saying and awful lot.

"Um...okay, thanks," Ginny muttered, really not knowing what else to say. She opened her trunk, which she hadn't bothered to unpack, and grabbed her bad of toiletries. Ginny suddenly looked a little lost, there were three doors in the room; one that lead to the staircase, one that lead to the bathroom, and one that lead to a small closet with blankets and pillows. She could remember that much, but she couldn't recall which was which; she could swear that the one on the right was the bathroom, but she wasn't about to risk it and walk into a cupboard.

The girl turned around and looked at Ginny with a raised eyebrow.

"What are you doing?" he asked her.

Ginny bit her lip, trying to restrain herself from snapping at this girl, why the hell did she sound so bitter?

The red-head turned around, a hand on her hip and the other one holding the back.

She breathed in deeply, trying not to get angry. "I can't remember which door leads to the bathroom."

The girl snorted and Ginny took a second to look at her. She knew this girl; she had a long thin nose, small lips and two big light green eyes. Ginny pressed her lips together, trying to figure out her name; she knew that she knew her but she wasn't sure...she just...

"It's the one on the right the other one is..." the dark-haired girl started explaining.

"A closet, I know..." Ginny finished, making the girl raise her eyebrow again.

"If you checked it last night, how come you-" the girl suddenly stopped talking as she seemed to recall something. "When you said that you couldn't _remember _which one it was, what did you mean?"

Ginny rolled her eyes, but then the girl ran a hand threw her short hair, pulling it back, and Ginny recognised her. "You're Anna, aren't you?"

The girl nodded with a rather strange look on her face. "Yeah," she answered with her eyebrow still raised, so high that her fringe was almost covering it. "Anna Mirfield. And you are a new girl, which is kind of strange since that doesn't tend to happen at Hogwarts, but I guess that not many normal things happen here anymore. So, anyway, I saw you talking to Harry Potter and the Weasleys last night, so...what are you? Like a cousin of Ron's or something? Because you've got red hair and all-"

The girl suddenly stopped, blinking with realization. She looked at Ginny with big surprised eyes and hesitantly, her lips parted. "Oh, god...you're Ginny, aren't you? Of course, I'm so dumb; I didn't recognise you with the hair and the well...age."

Ginny pressed her lips together again, feeling a little awkward. "Hi, I guess," she said simply, not knowing what else to say.

"Umm...hey," Anna spoke, also feeling awkward but it didn't last long; a second later she started interrogating the red-head. "What happened to you? After you got possessed, Potter saved you and then you dissapeard. I even asked your brother once; he said you went to Beauxbatons."

"Yeah, I don't know, I felt like a change...but with this whole Voldemort shit..." Ginny spoke but shut up, realizing Anna really wasn't that interested.

"It's good to have you back, I'm sure Vicky, Kate and Ginger will be happy to hear it too," the girl said absently.

Ginny shrugged and breathed in. "Yeah, well, I'm going to..." Ginny started saying as she pointed to the bathroom.

"Sure, see you in Defence; we have it first thing with Ravenclaw."

Ginny nodded and quickly turned to go to the bathroom. God, how she hated awkwardness.

* * *

"They look good on you," Harry's voice was heard as Ginny descended the stairs in her school robes. Harry smiled and got up from the sofa where he was sitting, he left something he had been holding on a table nearby and walked up to Ginny, reaching for her tie. Ginny looked at him strangely and Harry laughed. "You didn't tie it correctly."

Ginny snorted as Harry did the tie for her. "Doesn't this tend to be the other way around?" she asked with amusement.

Harry laughed. "We don't tend to do things the right way around."

Ginny shrugged. She really didn't know what it was that Harry and she were doing. What were they? Were they going out? Were they seeing each other? Were they friends? Ginny knew it was pathetic to look for labels, it was something far too _typical _for people like Harry and she, but she couldn't help it. Since she was eleven, she had been used to feeling alone and not thinking, trying her best to just go on auto pilot, do anything, _anything_¸ to prevent _him _from reaching her. She had never thought about love, about boyfriends, about anything that wasn't keeping herself busy, making sure she couldn't be tormented by voices and memories.

Ginny shook her head, her typical move after losing herself thinking about something. Harry smiled at her and she smiled back.

"What are you doing here?" she asked him.

He shrugged. She showed him a knowing look. "Fine, I saw you didn't go downstairs to have breakfast, so I brought you something up here."

Ginny laughed. "You know, I have legs and hands and a brain, Potter. I can feed myself alone."

Harry was silent and Ginny suddenly felt a little guilty, so she went on her tiptoes as kissed his cheek sweetly. "But thank you," she said, making the young man smile.

Harry reached for a packet that was about the size of a ping pong ball and handed it to Ginny, who raised her eyebrow.

"It's shrunk," Harry told her, making her nod in understanding as she left the package on the table again and pointed her finger at it, making it go back to its original state. She then proceeded to open it, finding a plate with sausages, bacon and a toast. Ginny smiled and grabbed a chair. She was about to summon a knife and a fork when she realized Harry was looking at her, wide-eyed; it didn't take her long to realize why he was in that state; she had just done a non-verbal spell in front of Harry. She turned up to look at him and then turned around to see if anyone else had seen her. There was only a few second or third years in a corner, so she went back to looking at harry.

"How did you do that?" he asked calmly, obviously having recuperated from the sudden shock that had caused him to not speak up until then.

Ginny played dumb. "Do what?" She asked and tried to change the subject. "Did you bring a knife and fork or should I summon them?"

"Well," Harry answered. "I was going to do that, but seeing as you don't even need a wand, maybe you should."

Ginny sighed. Harry grabbed a chair and sat beside her. "As far as I know, they don't teach non-verbal spells in Beauxbatons," he whispered. "And especially, not wandlessly. Not even Dumbledore can do that."

"I wouldn't believe all that Dumbledore tells me, if I were you. He's pretty good at making the lies seem complete truth," she told him, quickly summoning the knife and fork and digging in. Harry suddenly looked annoyed.

"Dumbledore's not perfect," he told her, making her look up. "But if he's ever made a lie seem true, it's been for my own good. He cares about me like he would about a grandson, and I love him like grandfather. Whatever your reasons are for not trusting him, I would forget them."

"Why?" Ginny suddenly spoke angrily. "Because you say so? Sorry, Potter, but I've got my own brain to think and decide with. And that man lies all the time, telling people everything's okay, telling people that they're going to be fine! And they're not fine!"

Harry frowned. "He's a human being, he makes mistakes, and maybe he _does _think that things are going to be fine. Besides, I don't want to fight about Dumbledore; we're talking about you being able to do non-verbal spells here."

"Well, I don't feel like talking about that," Ginny answered back, standing up and shoving the plate to a side. "Thanks for the breakfast, but I'm not hungry, I'm going to grab my books and head for class."

Ginny walked up the stairs without a second glance at Harry until she reached the corner of the stairs, were she turned to look at him for a split second before turning back around and continuing to walk up the stairs.

Harry sighed. And wrapped the food up again, shrank it, placed a warming charm on it and left it on the table, taking out a piece of parchment and scribbling something on it:

_Take it; you'll be hungry later on. _

He left it there, knowing that she'd see it, grabbed his books and headed for Charms. When he was half-way there, Ron and Hermione spotted him.

Oddly enough, Ron was the first to realize he looked slightly angry.

"What's up, mate?" he asked Harry, as Hermione eyed both of them. Harry looked up at Ron and shook his head.

"Red-heads," the emerald-eye boy muttered before walking off. Ron stood still, with a confused look on his face.

"What have I done, now?" Ron asked Hermione, who shook her head, sighed and grabbed Ron's hand.

* * *

Ginny walked down and saw the package resting on the table. Her first instinct was to leave it there, but her Weasley stomach protested and she took it, shoving it in her pocket a little angrily. How dare he get angry at her for merely expressing her opinion? They were nearly in the twenty-first century, were they not? Couldn't a woman express her opinion?

_All upset because of Potter, are we? Well, look at that._

Ginny closed her eyes tightly and held her books close to her chest as she started walking, only concentrating on where she was going, trying hard to keep _him_ out.

"Ginny!" A voice shouted while she was standing in the middle of a moving staircase, she didn't think she'd ever get used to these things.

She turned around and found that the voice belonged to the blond girl whom Harry had introduced her to on the train. She was wearing her school robes and a Ravenclaw tie, but, making her uniform look extremely unique, she had added three thick bracelets to her arm, a pair of big dangly feather earrings, and bright red sports shoes that could be seen when she walked.

She waved a little awkwardly; she couldn't even remember her name. She tried to think back and was happy when she realized she was called Luna.

"Luna, isn't it?" she asked the girl as she reached her.

"Yes, Luna Lovegood," Luna answered with a smile as they continued walking towards their destination.

"Lovegood, as in Xenophilius Lovegood, from the Quibbler?" Ginny asked in surprised.

"Yes, daddy is the director of the Quibber, do you read it?" Luna asked absently.

Ginny laughed joyfully. "Sure thing, I adore it. Sometimes, when I needed to take my mind off...well, off _things_, I just opened it, read something and laugh."

"Laugh?" Luna asked absently. Ginny realized the other girl might get offended if she spoke about the real reason why she thought the Quibbler was funny, so she just gave her a good enough answer.

Ginny nodded. "Sure, I love the way the articles are written, the irony in them sometimes...it's hilarious."

Luna didn't say anything for a few seconds. She then walked onto another staircase and Ginny followed her. "I'm really happy that Harry's found you, you know?"

Ginny's eyes widened as Luna startled her with her statement; Ginny was about to ask where that idea came from, but she was interrupted by Luna.

"Neville used to say that Susan and he would probably get married, like Ron and Hermione; but I knew that wouldn't happen. I've got an eye for these things, you see?"

Ginny shrugged. "I-I guess, but... don't say anything, ok? We're not really... serious or anything."

Luna let out a small strange laugh. "Don't worry. I don't really have a lot of friends to tell, but, of course you're serious, it's so beautiful when you see two people love each other."

Ginny breathed in and decided to ignore the last comment. "Well, hey, you know...I don't really have a lot of friends, I'm...I'm different...so, maybe you and me could...you, know, be friends."

Ginny didn't really know what had possessed her to do something that was so out of character for her, maybe it was sympathy for Luna, or more, it was sympathy for herself; she hadn't had a friend, since... well, since ever, and she felt like Luna was just the kind of friend she needed.

Luna continued walking and was silent for a few seconds; she then looked at Ginny and smiled. "We're already friends, silly."

Ginny rolled her eyes but smiled.

* * *

"Hey, Ginny, Hey, Luna," Hermione Granger's voice was heard as the two girls came out of the DADA class. Ginny looked up, surprised to see the older girl there.

"Hello, Hermione," Luna greeted her happily. "Did you know werewolves can drink a potion to make them sane during the full moon?"

Hermione looked at the blonde for a second. "Yes, Wolfsbane potion. Professor Snape and Slughorn make it for Professor Lupin every full moon."

"What are you doing here, Hermione?" Ginny asked in a slightly bitter voice. She couldn't help it, Hermione had never shown any understanding to Ginny since she had arrived at the Burrow a month before; she had only attacked her in one way or another. Ginny knew she hadn't been an angel or exactly trustworthy, but Harry believed in her, he trusted her in a matter of days... Hermione? Not so much.

Hermione bit her lip. "I wanted to...well, I've got a free period and I was...well, I know I should wait until my class but..."

"We don't know who the second teacher is," Ginny suddenly said realizing what the older girl wanted. Hermione blinked and suddenly looked frustrated. "Not even Lupin knows; she's showing up tonight. We know she's a young Auror, just that."

Hermione sighed. "Well, I'll have to wait then."

She then turned around and started walking.

"What's with the wanting to know, anyway? Why does it matter?" Ginny asked her and Hermione turned around, looking a little embarrassed.

"I always make a timetable the day the term starts; with all the teachers and a map of Hogwarts with their offices...I can't do that unless I know," Hermione admitted. She then turned around again, before Ginny could make any silly remark.

She _did _make a remark, but not the one Hermione was expecting.

"I get what Ron meant; no one else _could _have been head girl," Ginny told her truthfully. She didn't know why she had said it; she just felt it needed to be said.

Hermione turned around again, as if to say if Ginny was joking or not. When she saw she wasn't, she smiled.

"Thanks," she said, truthfully. "By the way, he'll be at the Library after sixth period. Just, if... you know, you want to sort out whatever."

Ginny didn't need to ask who she was talking about.

* * *

"Studying? On the first day?" Hannah Abbott asked Harry as she saw him sitting at a table in the library. She laughed and sat opposite him. "Let me guess, a book about Dark Magic?"

Harry looked up at her and sighed. "_Defence _Against Dark Magic. I need to see what I can teach you people when we start the DA again."

"You're going to continue?" Hannah asked him curiously. "I thought you'd be too busy this year. With all the private training and stuff."

Harry sighed again. "I will be; but I'll have some of you guys covering for me. You know, Neville, Luna, you...maybe even Dean and Sea-"

Harry stopped dead in his tracks. How could he have just forgotten? Hannah put her hand over his, comforting him.

"I did it the other day; it's okay, Harry. We haven't had time to...adapt, to...deal with it," she explained, rising Harry's moral a little. It hadn't been the best day for him.

Harry squeezed her hand and let go of it. "What about Ginny?" Hannah suddenly asked. "Will she be joining the DA too?"

"_I'm not sure she needs it,_" Harry muttered under his breath, but before the girl could ask him what he had said, he answered her out loud. "Maybe, depends... she's not really comfortable with... the Dark Arts in general."

Hannah bit her lip. "Are you two... you know?"

Harry looked up, a little startled. Hannah laughed.

"Come on, Harry... the way you looked at her yesterday... it's pretty obvious."

He was going to have to be careful if he didn't want Ron to find out. Harry chuckled.

"I don't know, it's complicated... she's a Weasley, a pretty unique Weasley, and, well, I'm...we're in the middle of a war..." Harry tried to explain.

Hannah looked around. "What about Suse?"

Harry looked up at her with a sympathetic smile. "I... care for Susan; I love her, just not really in the way I thought I did. I'm worried about her, but it's over between us, at least in that way."

"I'm scared for her, Harry," Hannah confessed. "What if something happens to her? What if she dies?"

Harry stood up and walked around the table, kneeling down beside Hannah, and grabbing both her hands.

"She's going to be okay, she's a clever girl, she'll be okay... they'll all be okay."

Harry didn't know who he was trying to convince, her or himself.

* * *

Harry was walking towards the common room.

Ginny was walking towards the library.

Both of them thinking only in finding the other.

Ginny turned a corner and Harry came out of a tapestry that was hiding the exit of a small shortcut.

They both looked up, finding each other and, somehow, after a few second of pushing and shoving, ended up in a broom closet nearby.

"We need to talk," they both said in unison.

Ginny chuckled, but became serious. "Well, obviously, or I wouldn't have pushed you into a broom closet. I'm not clichéd enough to bring you in here to snog."

"What are you talking about?" Harry asked, confuse. "_I_ pushed you into the closet."

Ginny rolled her eyes. "So typical of us, pushing and shoving each other when we could've just walked in."

Harry frowned.

"Could you put some light in here, please, I would like to see your face when I'm talking to you," Ginny asked.

It was Harry's turn to roll his eyes. "Why should I have to take my wand out when you can just use your finger?"

Ginny kicked Harry. "I can't bloody well use my finger to cast 'Lumos', it's a spell that can only be casted with a wand and I can't reach mine. Besides, I'm not going to try and cast a fire in here; we'd end up pretty screwed up.

Harry sighed, took his wand out and cast Lumos, then saw that there were two torches in the back of the closet, so he lit them up. "More screwed up that we already are?" Harry asked, her, referring to her last comment.

Ginny frowned at him but she didn't say anything. They were silent for a few seconds.

"I'm sorry, for yelling at you or just getting mad, I...I shouldn't have," Harry apologized.

"Yeah, you bloody well shouldn't have," was Ginny's answer, startling Harry, who was expecting an apology.

Harry grew a little angry. "Yeah, but you shouldn't have kept it from me, I've been totally truthful with you, I've told you things that only a few know, I've given you all my trust, it's only fair that you give me yours."

Ginny pressed her lips together tightly.

"I never asked you to trust me, I never asked you to go near me, and I never said I would give you anything in return," Ginny let him know.

Harry gulped. "Is that your final say?"

Ginny bit her lip but remained impassive. "Umm...I...Y-Yeah," she spoke hesitantly and with regret once the words were out.

"Fine, then," Harry said, making a move to get out of the closet. It was getting too stuffed anyway.

Ginny grabbed Harry's arm quickly, making him turn around, looking into her eyes, his body pressed to hers.

"It's not that I don't trust you," she said after a small pause.

Harry frowned again, showing that that answer wasn't enough for him.

"No, listen to me, Harry. I trust you, but I don't want to hurt you. If I tell you everything, we'll both get hurt. I'm not ready to let it all out and you're better of finding out slowly, taking it one step at a time," she explained, hoping he would understand.

Harry felt her take his hand and, although he wanted to be mad and wanted her to tell him everything, just like he had done, he couldn't be mad at her because he understood. He hadn't spoken to her about the Dursleys, or his battles against Voldemort... maybe they both needed to take it slow.

He looked at her for a second. She was wearing her muggle clothes, unlike him, who was still wearing his school robes. Her hair was falling down her face, messy and obviously asking to be pulled back, but he liked it that way; all natural, all Ginny.

He lifted his left hand and caressed her cheek. "I-I think I understand, but you can't leave me in the dark; there are some things I just _need _to know."

"Okay... like?"

"Like why the hell you seem to be more powerful than Dumbledore himself," Harry spoke seriously.

Ginny breathed in a few times. It was too much and Harry could see that.

"Fine, what about the reason why you can do wandless magic? Can you deal with that?" Harry asked her, holding both her hands in his own. The light was dim, for the torches were small, but it was enough for them to see each other.

Ginny breathed in slowly one last time. "I can... that's okay."

She sat down and leaned against the wall. Harry copied her, still holding her right hand in his left.

"Beauxbatons is a school for French girls, and let me tell you that French witches tend to be pretty... well, you've met Fleur haven't you?"

Harry chuckled a little.

"It really is easier to simply tell you that no one's really friends there, we all had our private chamber... we went to classes from 7am to 5pm and we had to be in bed by seven. Besides, most people went home during the weekends. I obviously couldn't; not that I wanted to, mind you," she continued telling him. Harry frowned.

"So, I had a lot of free time and Beauxbatons has a huge library; at the beginning I spent all my free time learning French so I wouldn't have to use a translating charm everywhere, but when I finally got the hang of it... I started looking for new things to learn."

Harry gulped, she sounded like Hermione.

Ginny smiled absently, as if remembering a moment she was fond off. "We've got so much power, even Muggles have power... this _world _is filled with power coming from everywhere. It's all about how our brain digests it. Muggles and Squibs, for example, only have about a 3 percent of the power that we have, sometimes a little more. That's where mediums and tarot readers all come from, they feel what they tell people... well, most of the time anyway. And then there's us who are filled with power, it radiates off us, but most of it is just left behind, we use our wands and only use the amount of power that we need. With time we get used to using only the power that we need, and when we get to harder spells, our brain doesn't know how to digest all the power at once. So, I started studying and using my free time and in the end I realized I didn't need the wand most of the time. Well, I mean... sometimes I do use it... on harder spells, but the enlarging spell isn't one of them, you only have to picture what needs to happen in your head... it's harder when you're doing spells where you don't know the outcome."

Harry was looking at his knees, trying to understand everything that Ginny was telling him.

"So, you just studied. Hermione's been studying all her life and..."

Ginny shook her head. "No, Harry I _needed _to study. Hermione does it because she wants to achieve the most she can, because she's brave enough to take on what she can't do... that's the reason she's a Gryffindor instead of a Ravenclaw, she's not just smart, she makes herself smart. I... it was different with me. If I wanted to continue sane, I needed to push myself... I can't explain why, not right now, I'm not ready to... but you just need to know that I doubt other people could do it as easily as I did... I wish it had taken me more time, it would've stopped me from doing other things."

"So," Harry muttered. "You can do wandless magic, non verbal spells... and you taught yourself... studying..."

"Exactly!" Ginny said, glad that he understood it.

Harry turned to look at her with a sly smile. "And you're a Weasley?"

Ginny's jaw dropped and she hit Harry on the arm. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well," Harry spoke, rubbing his arm where Ginny hit him. "I'm not saying that the guys aren't smart, because... they are. Bill was top of his class, Charlie makes those dragons behave, Fred and George... well, they're pure geniuses, Dad and Mum are smart in a way I can't even understand, Perce is... well, he's Perce... and Ron... Ron has this strange way of surprising me all the time, so I'm not going to say anything about him."

"Fine then, so what is that comment meant to mean?"

"Well, it's just that, apart from... maybe...Percy. Gin, they all can't go a whole hour studying or thinking for that matter... especially if there's food somewhere in the world," Harry explained in amusement.

Ginny bit her lip. "Yeah, well... then all this is probably because, in between you and me, French food... is really not my thing."

Harry laughed; he laughed out loud, like he hadn't laughed in ages.

Ginny looked at him with a smile and, once he settled down, she leaned over and placed her lips on his.

Harry pulled back a second later. "We've still got to talk about your sudden hatred towards Dumbledore..."

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Harry, we're both in a broom closet... we've got an hour before someone starts thinking Voldemort kidnapped you, and, I still haven't snogged you properly... so, what would you rather, talk about an old guy with a white beard or kiss-"

She didn't get to finish the sentence.


	12. Chapter 10:Truth

_*UPDATED*_

Chapter 10 - Truth

* * *

_"Truth is more of a stranger than fiction._"**Mark Twain**

* * *

"Harry, you have to stand up straight against Mr. Weasley," Dumbledore told the young man as he and Ron, who were standing with their backs together, fired spells at the "fake Death Eaters" that Dumbledore had summoned for the practice.

There were three "Death Eaters", two walking towards Harry and Ron and another one taking them by surprise; Hermione took hers down with a _Reducto_ before the boys could even realize it was going towards them.

It was Thursday night and they were in the Defence classroom. They had already been at Hogwarts for two weeks and this was their third session in two days; Voldemort was killing people and Harry needed to be ready as quickly as he could. They already knew for sure that the second to last Horcrux was in the Lextrange's Gringotts vault, but they couldn't get it until Harry was ready, and he was still far off.

"Great hit, Hermione!" Remus told her as he watched the scene from a nearby chair.

Hermione put her hands on her knees and let a few ragged breaths escape her, they'd been at it for an hour now, and the three of them were pretty much exhausted. It wasn't _that_ late, but they'd also woken up for an early practice this morning. Sirius and Mad-eye had appeared in their rooms and awoken them claiming that it would be good for them to engage in a fight while they were still asleep, just in case.

"Ron, cover me!" Harry shouted. He needed to think. The task was to get rid of the summoned Death Eaters, which might seem easy, but normal spells didn't work on them, they kept on standing up after they hit them and Dumbledore had told them not to use Unforgivables, it would be too dangerous.

Harry reached out for Hermione, who was still breathing heavily.

"Hermione, do you think _Petrificus Totalus_ could work?"Harry asked her.

Hermione looked at him, they hadn't thought about easy spells, they had tried to hit them with more complicated things.

"Maybe, I mean... to stop them; we can't hit them properly if they move at that speed, but maybe, if they stop moving..." Hermione thought out load.

Ron walked back. "Guys, some help!" he shouted at the other two. Hermione nodded at Harry, letting him know that she would help him.

She ran towards him and stood with her back touching him like Harry had. They started firing spells, Harry went behind them and, when the Death Eaters weren't facing him, he put restraining spells on both of them. Then, when the other Death Eater tried to use _Finite Incantatem_ on them, Harry placed a shield on them and Hermione petrified him too.

As they realized that the Death Eaters weren't moving, the trio turned towards the three professors.

Dumbledore and Remus simply nodded at them, but the remaining professor applauded them as she walked towards Hermione and tripped on the way.

Harry laughed, remembering the night that Tonks was presented as the second Defence Against the Dark Arts professor. Just remembering how she had tripped when she reached the table and Remus's face when he saw her, made him want to laugh even more.

"It's not going to be that easy," Remus told them.

"Yes; Professor Lupin is quite right, a petrifying spell may be useful sometimes, but not in the middle of a battle," Dumbledore spoke seriously.

Harry rolled her eyes. "Yeah, but when we're in battle we'll use Unforgivables; as much as we would prefer not to, sometimes there are things that have to be done."

"Harry's right, Remus," Tonks spoke. "Besides, it was a great idea, a really _smart_ idea. Sometimes the smallest spells, the ones you learn on your first day at Hogwarts, are the ones that can save your life."

"Very right you are, Nymphadora," Dumbledore agreed, while the woman in question scowled at the use of her first name. "However, when practicing, it is best to use spells that you have difficulty with, so you can master them and you're ready if you need to use them.

"Professor Dumbledore," Hermione suddenly said. "I know that this is really important, a lot more important than anything else, but we _have_ got homework and we're really tired after this morning's session. Do you think we could continue tomorrow?"

Dumbledore smiled at the young woman. "I think, once again, Miss Granger is quite right. You won't control your magic correctly if your heart is not in it."

The trio mumbled a quiet 'thank you' and left the room before the old man could change his mind.

Dumbledore followed, giving the two DADA teachers a nod.

"I'm also going to leave, I'm-" Remus tried to get away when he realized that he had been left alone with Tonks.

"Remus..." Tonks simply said, reaching out for him. The werewolf took a step back.

"I can't, you shouldn't have come, Dora...it doesn't change anything."

Those were Remus's final words before he walked out the door, leaving behind a hurt and worried Tonks.

* * *

Ron was walking beside his two best friends; his left hand in Hermione's right as he spoke to Harry.

"It stinks, really," Ron admitted. "I mean, I know we barely have time for anything as it is, but Quidditch is... well, it's _Quidditch_ and Hogwarts without Quidditch stinks, like _really _stinks."

"Ronald," Hermione said with her know-it-all smirk. "I'm pretty sure that you are probably the only person I will ever know who can say _Quidditch_ and _stinks_ three times in the same sentence."

Harry laughed and Ron rolled his eyes, but pulled Hermione closer. Harry looked away; he still wasn't used to his two best friends acting so close and happy, and what was even harder to watch was Ron being so daring; not that he minded, but it was a little disconcerting sometimes. Ron had always been a guy who barely had any self-esteem; however, since he and Hermione had gotten together, he was a completely different guy. He was not Harry's shadow anymore, nowhere near.

"Hey, why don't we just go and sit down in the common room, talk and laugh for a few hours," Ron spoke. "It feels like we haven't done that for ages."

Hermione looked at him sympathetically. "I've got to get out of these clothes, they smell and Justin and I have got rounds in half-an hour."

Ron nodded at her, indicating he understood. Hermione leaned in and gave him a quick peck on the lips as Harry looked away pointedly and ran a hand through his hair.

"Bye, Harry," Hermione finally said before leaving the two boys alone in the corridor.

"So," Ron spoke, looking at his best friend. "You feel like a game of chess?"

Harry gave him a sympathetic smile similar to Hermione.

"Oh, come on, what do you have to do?" Ron asked him in an annoyed tone.

Harry run a hand through his hair again, considering if telling him the truth was an option.

"I'm...well, I'm going to the library..." he admitted quietly, waiting for Ron's reaction.

It surprised him, the reaction...Ron burst out laughing looking at his friend with glistening eyes.

"Good one, mate!" he laughed, patting Harry on the back. "Let's go play chess..."

He was about to argue but, before he could help it, he was hesitantly following Ron to the portrait hole. Ginny would be alright, he thought to himself; she'd realize he wasn't coming and come back to the common room, maybe have a little go at him and, hopefully, forgive him.

"Oi, Harry! You coming?" Ron asked as he entered the portrait hole.

Harry looked towards the direction that lead to the library one more time before nodding at his friend.

* * *

Ginny looked at the clock on the wall as it ticked. Harry had told her he would be there at nine, if not before; however, it was already nine-thirty and she had seen Remus entering the library about ten minutes ago, so she knew that he was most probably out of training.

She couldn't quite believe it: Ginny Weasley waiting for a guy, or what was even worse, Ginny Weasley waiting and _stressing _for _Harry Potter. _She didn't even want to admit it, but she had been looking forward to today, she was going to ask him about training and she hoped that that would lead him to telling her something serious and then she might feel strong enough to tell him a bit about her first year. She wasn't ready to speak of the years that followed yet, but today she wanted to start with the beginning, let it out for the first time.

She cursed under her breath as the clock continued moving, it was as if it was teasing her.

"Can I sit here?" a deep voice suddenly sounded.

Ginny looked up hopefully, for a second thinking it might be Harry. She looked up and instead of meeting the chosen one's pale skin and emerald eyes, she met chocolate skin and eyes looking down at her with a smile.

She recognised the guy as one of Harry's friends, who had been sitting in the compartment. He was the one who had told Harry about the death of one of his friends, she seemed to remember his name was something like Dean.

She nodded quickly, a little surprised by the question.

The dark-skinned 17-year-old sat opposite her, a magazine in his hand.

"Ginny Weasley, right?" he asked. "Ron's sister?"

She looked up at him and realized he wasn't sitting there for lack of space somewhere else.

"Yeah, that's me," Ginny spoke. "I... could your name be Dean? I can't properly remember."

Dean continued smiling. "Yeah, Dean Thomas."

He offered his hand over the table and Ginny took it. She was surprised to realize that this was the first real conversation she'd had with a guy since she had come back; well, apart from, obviously, Harry and the members of the Order, and her family. She was also surprised by the fact that she wasn't flirting or initiating it. She looked down and thought about the first time she'd ever _seduced _a guy.

_-Flashback-_

_She drank down the whole drink at once, hoping it would make everything stop, but it just made her feel more dizzy._

_The music was loud, she had a half a litre of alcohol in her body and she could barely move among all the people at that club, but that didn't make _him _stop. _His _voice resounded in her head making her want to grab a glass bottle and hit herself with it. She cursed, maybe if she wasn't a witch the alcohol would have a bigger effect, but muggle alcohol had nothing on her. _

_She didn't know what she was doing here; she should be at the Burrow, celebrating Christmas with her family; but Harry was there. _

_As he came up, the chamber flashed in front of her. And as she remembered him saving her, she also remembered what had come before... the way _his _voice had soothed her in a disgusting way, not meaning the words that she was hearing. _

_She swallowed down another, glass but she only felt full. _

_Ginny looked around and spotted a group of guys in a corner. There was a cake on the table, with a one and an eight standing on it. Five guys were pushing who she thought was the birthday boy towards her._

_It was pathetic that the minute she saw him, with black hair and a strong build, her mind went back to Harry, and so Riddle's voice mocked her once again. She shook her head and walked towards the guy, not even daring to thinking about it. _

_She uttered a translating spell under her breath before reaching him, but by the time she was finished, he had walked up to her. _

"_Hola," the young man spoke in a southern Spanish accent._

_Ginny gulped, breathed in and simply went for it, thinking back to the Muggle movies she'd watched, back to how the woman falls directly in love with the man. Surprisingly, as she thought of that, she felt _his_ voice abandon her. _

"_Hola," she answered back._

_-End of Flashback-_

"Ginny?" She heard Dean's voice inquire. She looked up and realized that their hands were still touching.

She pulled hers away immediately.

"Oh, God...I'm sorry," she said with a mixture of a laugh and shock.

Dean laughed too. "'T's okay, it seemed like you'd gone somewhere."

Ginny nodded. "Yeah, I guess. It happens a lot."

"I would expect so..." Dean commented making Ginny raise an eyebrow. "Well," he started explaining. "I mean, you've changed schools and well... not like I want to be nosy or anything... but seeing your brother's best friend and, you know, he's the Chosen One..."

"I'm not seeing Harry," Ginny spoke quickly, as a reflex. Far too many years of repeating a 'no' in front of Harry's name Ginny thought. However, she also knew that it also had to do with the fact that he'd left her alone. "Well," she continued, "We're really good friends, he looks out for me... you know, he's got the saving people thing."

"Oh," Dean stuttered. "I-I just thought...it seemed like, and...Hannah said..."

"Like I said," Ginny stated, "We're a guy and a girl in a really difficult time, and who look out for each other. I've realized reading into that can just leave you feeling like a failure."

* * *

"Oh, come on," Ron spoke as he and Harry sat on the sofa. "Wouldn't it bother you? Just a bit?"

"Right now?" Harry asked. "Who? I mean, I... I'm just not in that place right now, am I?"

"Well," Ron said. "No, obviously... I guess, at least. But... well, let's say Susan hadn't left and she had been Head Girl. How would you feel if she slept closer to Justin Finch-Fletchley than you?"

"Ron! We're talking about Hermione!For some unknown reason, she's head over heels in love with you, she's not even going to look at Justin, don't panic," Harry suggested him.

The man then looked down at his watch once again. Ginny should be back by now, it was nearly eleven. It was he who had begun panicking half an hour ago; now he knew that he had to go out to look for her.

All of a sudden, as if on cue, Ron spoke up. "Hey, have you seen my sister?"

Harry suddenly looked relieved and Ron raised his eyebrows at the eager young man.

"No, I'll go look for her..." the emerald eyed young man spoke.

"Fine, just don't get caught. Hermione will kill you if Dumbledore makes you stay for another training session because of it."

Harry nodded, heading towards the door as Ron made his way towards the dormitory.

* * *

Harry walked out of the portrait hole only to see red and brown hair crossing the corner. He clenched his teeth, not really knowing how to identify his feelings. He felt stupid for not warning Dean off, he should've the moment that he saw the way he looked at Ginny on the train. He then felt hurt because she had changed, or because he _thought _she had changed, because he had thought that she actually felt something for him.

"Hey, mate," Dean spoke as they approached him.

Harry had to fight a serious inner battle to even answer him back.

Dean looked from one teenager to the other and realized pretty quickly that he was obviously acting as a third wheel, so he moved past Harry.

"Well, goodnight...I need to..." He looked at Ginny, obviously trying to say goodnight in a way that wouldn't get him killed by Harry.

Ginny realized and smiled at him. "Goodnight, Dean... it was nice talking to you."

Harry muttered a goodnight too, before Dean disappeared.

Ginny also followed and, obviously, so did Harry.

"Do you know how much trouble you can get into if a teacher finds you wondering around at eleven?" Harry asked her.

He was perfectly aware that he sounded like a jealous boyfriend, but he couldn't help it. He hated it, he wasn't a dramatic person, when he learnt that Padma had flirted with Seamus... well, yes, of course he felt a little replaced and he wished Padma would have spoken to him, but he took it maturely, he didn't make a scene. The thing was, that right at that moment, he felt like waking the whole tower with a shouting match between the red head at himself.

"I was going to talk to you about the diary today," she said, far too quietly to seem like a normal Ginny speech. "I was thinking that I would get you to tell me something big and then I would tell you something big too."

Harry gulped. Suddenly his anger seemed to disperse and he felt guilty... he had left her alone, even if it was for a stupid hour, he promised her he wouldn't, he had promised her that he wouldn't let go.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry... Merlin's beard, Ginny...I..." Harry suddenly felt like he could say sorry a thousand times and it would never be enough.

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Save it, Potter."

She started to walk past him but he stopped her. "Don't do that," he told her. "Don't just call me Potter and act like you don't care."

At that point Ginny burst. "Don't care? _Act_ like I don't care? You know what, Harry? I was the queen of not caring; of not giving a shit... and then you come along and I've _forgotten _how to not care! I... I slept with guys I didn't even know! I lied to my own family! I stole! I had no morals whatsoever! And tonight... I was _waiting _for _you_ in a library. Do you even know what that means, Harry? Me waiting for someone is already bad enough, I don't do waiting! But _me_ waiting for _you_? That's what I've been running away from for my whole life! And in a month you've got me spilling my secrets out, feeling _guilty _that I was laughing at another guy's jokes... and then you just go and bail on me!"

Harry wanted to hug her, but he was afraid she might hurt both of them if he did so. She looked like she was burning, literally. Her face matched her hair to perfection, and Harry could almost swear he could see her power radiating off her. He wanted to tell her that she looked beautiful when she was angry, but it was not the time or place.

"I'm...Merlin, Ginny, I didn't mean for this to matter so much," he told her sincerely. "Ron kind of left me no option and I thought you'd come to the common room without waiting for a long time...yeah, I guess it was wrong but..." Harry quietened down, not sure if he wanted the conversation to take the direction he was leading it in.

"But what, Harry?" Ginny asked fiercely.

The seventeen-year-old gulped. "You...You're needing me too much, Ginny," he started hesitantly, not sure if this was exactly what he was meaning to say. "I mean, I love that you need me, it makes me feel like I'm useful, like I'm not the only one who gets something from being near you... but you're not _that _girl; trust me, Ginny, I dated the needy girl for a long time and, you're nothing like that. You don't need me to be your knight in shining armour; you don't need me to walk on egg-shells around you... I know you'd rather if I don't turn back on our plans... and, I really am sorry for doing it today, that was... that was me taking the easy way out and deciding you wouldn't mind. I'm sorry for that, but...you can deal with that, you won't break down if I make a mistake, that's what I like the most about you..."

Ginny suddenly didn't know what to say. Up to now, she hadn't realized that she saw Harry as this permanent happy figure, someone who was like a statue... always in the same state and the same place, always there for when she needed it.

Harry was breathing loudly; feeling like a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders.

"I don't...I don't need you to always be there," Ginny spoke slowly. "But, Merlin! I need you to be there, Harry...don't you understand? You've given me something...I don't how to call it, but it's something that you can't take away now because I don't think I can actually continue going without it."

"I'm here," he told her, moving closer to her. "Look, I love that you're not the girl without a conscience any more, and you don't know how much I adore it that it's thanks to me... but, deep inside, you've always been the same girl...A girl who can stand on her own perfectly. Maybe sometimes you need a little support, and I'm here, I'm here for that...but you can't put all your weight on me. We both know that neither you nor me need that."

"I felt like I was eleven again," Ginny confessed, stepping closer to Harry. "I was looking at the clock and I just... I felt like I was a love sick puppy who no one even wanted. And, when I was waiting for you, thinking that you probably just forgot about me..."

Harry didn't think about it twice, he closed the distance between them and put his arms around her, pushing the girl into him.

He soothed her as he caressed her back gently. "I'm sorry. But, listen to me, I'm here... right now, I'm here... maybe not forever... but I'm here now and this is nothing like back then. Look at me..."

Ginny lifted her head and looked into his eyes as he stroked her hair.

"I know you don't want to hear it, but I'm in love with you," he confessed, continuing to look into her eyes. "I don't know why, I don't know how... but the point is I'm completely and irrevocably in love with you and that means that even if I act like a git sometimes, I'm always thinking about you, I will never have _simply_ _forgotten _about you, ok?"

Ginny breathed in and pulled him closer again, nodding against his chest. She wasn't ready to hear that, at least she thought she wasn't; in a way, it was far too much to take in, but it also gave her a warm feeling of security.

"I-I...can't..." she started speaking but Harry shushed her.

"Don't worry, I know," he told her as he continued to stroke her hair.

Ginny pulled apart to look at him properly again. Harry brushed of a tear that was making its way down her face.

"So, I know it seems stupid to ask this now... but, what are we?" Ginny asked, feeling stupid the minute the words were out of her mouth.

"Well, I'd ask you to be my girlfriend, but I've got the feeling you might run for the hills; besides, with Voldemort... I know it's a bit stupid, because the minute he entered my mind, you'd be like a flashing neon light, but... still, it's dangerous to be with me," Harry told her. "So, why not be two really screwed up teens that really need each other?"

Ginny managed to laugh. "You know you've changed me completely, don't you? I'm a completely new person; I don't even recognise myself..."

Harry leaned and planted a quick kiss on her lips. "That's not true. People don't just become someone different out of the blue; they can bring out a side of them that wasn't there before or, in your case, that hadn't been there in a long time... but this is you; you're not trying to be anyone else... this is who you are, who you should've been from the beginning."

Ginny looked at him in, as much as she hated to admit it, awe. He was this kind of perfect guy...tonight she had learnt he wasn't completely like that, but still, when he talked to her like that, it was amazing. She recalled that once Harry had told her that he'd be a different person if she hadn't left, if she hadn't basically given him her family; she laughed at him, but deep inside she wondered if it was true, if in an alternate universe Harry was the real heavily screwed up one and she was the one to bring him up.

She continued looking at him and, just like that, kissed him with passion... she could barely reach his lips on her tiptoes, so she put her arms around his neck for balance.

Harry kissed her back just as enthusiastically. He leaned down a little to make it easier for her, but seeing as she still had to stand on her tiptoes, he grabbed her legs and helped her put them around his hips. Now, with both her legs around his hips and her arms around his neck, he truly appreciated how well they fit. Padma was too thin and tall for them to ever have a problem kissing, and Susan had never been a heavy kisser. Not that they weren't passionate, but she was a little insecure and she put herself out less than normal girls.

However, those thoughts had left Harry's mind completely. In a matter of 30 seconds, somehow, they were already on the sofa, in between sitting and lying down, with Ginny on top of Harry.

It took one of Ron's chess pieces, that he had obviously forgotten to pack, to bring Harry back to reality.

He continued kissing Ginny, but softer, and he began sitting up. A few seconds later, Ginny caught the hint and pulled her lips away from Harry's.

"Wow..." Ginny whispered, not knowing what else to say. It was so amazing how everything had simply escaped her head; it had been like she had no brains for a minute, like everything had just been pure instinct. She thought back to all the other times she'd kissed men, she'd always had to keep her mind focused on Muggle movies, of the way the two main characters kissed each other, of the love that was visible on those screens. That was the way she always got through it and _he _always stayed away; when she thought of the movies it was the most effective thing, she was playing a role and she believed it and it always worked. However, this time she didn't imagine anything; she couldn't, because she didn't have to play a role, she... as much as she couldn't admit it, was falling in love with Harry too.

"You're pretty unique, you know that, right?" Harry asked her. She turned her back to him and lay down on his chest.

"Uh-huh," she muttered against his blue jumper.

Harry sank into the sofa, holding Ginny in his arms. He had a feeling that Ginny and he wouldn't be sleeping in their beds tonight.

* * *

"_You okay here?"A tall dark haired man asked a woman who was standing nearby a Zonko's shop. _

"_Yeah, I'm fine, go home... nothing much's gonna happen here, anyway...Voldemort's not going to appear," the woman stated clearly._

_The image was blurry and the observing eye was looking up from the ground, moving through the shadows. Its sight was centred on the woman, who looked quite strong and brave, but the eyes recognised a trace of sadness and tears on the woman's oval-shaped face. _

_After that, everything went as quickly as it could have. One second, the observer was metres away, and the second after, it was attacking the woman with ferocity. It bit through her skin with hunger and satisfaction, squirming over her, pulling at her bright pink short hair._

* * *

Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley both awoke so suddenly that they fell off the sofa they had been laying in. Harry put his hand over his forehead with pain. He tried to put pressure on it, but that only made it burn more.

"Go get someone!" he shouted at Ginny, who looked like she had just seen a ghost. "Quickly, Ginny! Tell them Tonks is in trouble! You need to run, now!"

Ginny breathed in as images made their way through her head, but she stood up and ran, ran as fast a she possibly could. Her first impulse was to go to McGonagall, but she then thought that there was someone who would take this even more seriously.

She reached Remus's door as quickly as she could. She didn't even bother to knock. She simply touched the door and it opened for her.

"Professor!" she shouted at the man, who awoke with a start. She didn't even give him time to speak.

"It's Tonks! She's been attacked by Nagini... she was next to Zonko's in Hogsmeade. I don't know if..."

But Ginny didn't have time to finish, for Lupin was out before she had started the second sentence. The girl fell to the ground and held her head with her hands tightly, begging, praying for the pain to go away.


	13. Chapter 11:Questions

_***UPDATED***_

_**In the last chapter:**_

She reached Remus's door as quickly as she could. She didn't even bother to knock. She simply touched the door and it opened for her.

"Professor!" she shouted at the man, who awoke with a start. She didn't even give him time to speak.

"It's Tonks! She's been attacked by Nagini... she was next to Zonko's in Hogsmeade. I don't know if..."

But Ginny didn't have time to finish, for Lupin was out before she had started the second sentence. The girl fell to the ground and held her head with her hands tightly, begging, praying for the pain to go away.

* * *

**Chapter 11**

**Questions**

* * *

"_It is better to know some of the questions than all of the answers.__"_ James Thurber

* * *

She didn't really look like herself.

Or, maybe, she looked exactly like herself, like her real self.

Nymphadora Tonks lay on a hospital bed under a thin white sheet that covered most of her body.

Her hair, which Harry had normally seen spiky and pink, was now shoulder length and straight, with a mousy brown colour and some lighter natural highlights. Her heart-shaped face remained the same, but her nose looked smaller, as did her lips.

There were scratches all over her arms and there was a huge bite mark on her chin, as well as other marks that had been bandaged due to their severity. Harry had to admit that seeing Tonks like this sent shivers up his spine.

Remus was looking at her as he sat to the left side of her bed; not even the strange looks that he had received from the young woman's parents moved him away from there, he looked like he was stuck there, like he wouldn't move until she did.

"I'm sure she'll be fine, Andromeda," Sirius spoke clearly, resting a comforting hand on the woman's shoulder. "My cousin's strong, she'll get past this, and she'll be firing spells at Death Eaters in no time."

Andromeda tried to smile a little, but the corners of her mouth barely moved.

Sirius turned to look at Harry and moved his head, telling the seventeen-year-old that it was time to get himself back to Hogwarts.

Harry nodded.

"Dumbledore wants to talk to you," Remus spoke without taking his eyes off Tonks for a second. "He said so before, when he brought her. He also wants to talk to Ginny."

"Yeah, sure..." Harry spoke. "Sirius is right," he then spoke to everyone in the room. "She's Tonks... she's gonna be fine."

"Remus," Ted Tonks then spoke. "Dumbledore mentioned you should be there too."

Remus didn't answer.

"Son," the man spoke again. This time the sandy haired man looked up. "She's not going to wake up until tomorrow at least, you can come back here when you're finished."

Remus looked at Sirius, who nodded in agreement.

Remus stood up slowly and then leaned down to place a soft kiss on Tonks's temple, not caring if her parents would be confused by the gesture. He then looked at the man and woman in question.

"If she does wake up... could you send a Patronus or Floo or-"

"We will," Andromeda spoke clearly, nodding at the man.

* * *

Harry felt himself spin as he arrived at the fireplace in Dumbledore's office. However, Dumbledore wasn't there, only Ginny was.

"He said he'd be back in a second, I don't know where he went," Ginny spoke as she saw Harry's eyes search for the old headmaster. Harry walked towards her and gave her a hug, surprising the red-headed girl. She pressed her head against his chest tightly, loving the feeling of safety and warmth...the pain was gone now, _he _had left the minute Harry walked, or more like stumbled, into the room. "How is she?"

Harry pressed his lips together. "They're pretty sure she'll live, but they have no idea how she'll react to the treatment, there was a kind of venom but well...they know it was a Snake, but they're not completely sure it was Nagini."

"Harry, I'm pretty sure it was Nagini, the darkness and they way it felt when it was hiding..." Ginny spoke as she looked at the boy

"Yeah, it felt like Nagini but last year -"

Suddenly Harry stopped and he looked down at Ginny and then she realized her error, she'd just confessed she had seen the vision too.

However, when Harry was about to say something, Dumbledore opened the door and Sirius appeared in the fireplace, followed by Remus; the two of them had obviously spoken about something when Harry had left.

"Harry, Miss Weasley, I'm sorry to disturb you like this, you probably haven't had any sleep, but... I just wanted to make sure that Harry told me everything he saw," Dumbledore spoke, smiling at the boy.

"Yeah, I think I did..." Harry spoke, still looking at Ginny hardly from the corner of his eye. "But, Professor, I think Ginny should leave... I mean, she's of no use here..."

His voice was hard and Ginny could feel him observing her. He probably thought it was something else that she'd kept from him, if only he knew she was as surprised as he was.

"Well, that's my second question... How come it was Miss Weasley who came to inform professor Lupin of the occurrence?" The headmaster asked, now looking at the girl, who was looking down at the ground.

Harry looked at the headmaster. "Ginny and I were speaking last night and we fell asleep on the common room sofa." As he said that, Harry could swear that he heard Sirius snort. "When I woke up, the pain was excruciating so I told her to reach someone."

"That's all?" Dumbledore spoke, looking straight at Ginny, who looked up and nodded.

"Yes," the girl answered. "I...I was going to wake up Professor McGonagall, but I had the feeling that Professor Lupin...well, I..."

Dumbledore nodded and waved his hand dismissively. "That's fine, Miss Weasley, I think I can understand. Now you can go back to you dormitory and get some sleep."

Ginny nodded and stood up, looking at Harry as she did, but he didn't return the look.

"Goodnight," Ginny spoke quietly. The three grown men returned her goodnight, but the one she was hoping for didn't.

As Ginny left, Remus walked towards Harry. "Ginny said it was Nagini, how did you know?"

"I..." Harry was silent for a few moments and Sirius eyed him carefully when he realized that his godson didn't know that it had been Nagini. "It felt like it, it felt like Voldemort... and I think I caught the colour... it looked like it and, I wouldn't have been able to see it if not, would I? It had to be Nagini."

"But the venom didn't reach Tonks's system, Harry. Why would Nagini do that?" Sirius asked.

Harry stood up angrily. "I don't know!"

He didn't know why he had suddenly snapped like that, but Remus's eyes on him were making him nervous, and Sirius asking him questions that he had no idea of made it all worse.

"I have no idea! I may have a connection with him, but it doesn't transmit his thoughts. I can't think like him, my brain and his are two completely different things," Harry shouted at the three.

"Harry, son, please calm down," Dumbledore begged. "We're just trying to help Nymphadora here."

Harry breathed in and nodded. "I know," he then spoke and looked at Remus. "I'm sorry, I just... I have no idea, Remus... I wish I could, you know that I would search in his mind if I could, but I can't...I'm sorry."

"It's okay," Remus whispered. "I have to get back to St. Mungo's. Get some sleep, Harry."

* * *

When Harry reached the common room, Ginny was sitting on the sofa, obviously waiting for him.

"I-I... I can't deal with this, not tonight," Harry spoke, making Ginny gulp. She couldn't help but think about how little that attitude went with Harry. Not caring, not being bothered... that was something she'd never seen in the young man.

He started walking toward the staircase and Ginny didn't say anything, she had no right to. However, when Harry reached the first step, he kicked it hardly and turned around to face Ginny.

Realizing that this was probably going to get loud, Ginny waved her hand and placed a muffling charm on them, not wanting the whole tower to wake up to their discussion.

Harry started in a low tone. "Every single time I think I'm a bit closer... you just... Are you really ever going to tell me something, Ginny? Because right now I feel like a puppet that you've been moving to please you. What am I? Really, truthfully... am I a game? Or are you really a Death Eater that he's sent so he can keep his tabs on me and then..."

Somewhere along the speech Ginny had stood up, and before Harry could finish, she slapped him, hardly. Harry took a hand up to his cheek.

"You have a right to be angry," Ginny spoke harshly. "You have a right to shout and be hurt and confused. You probably should try to hear me out first, but I get it, Gryffindors tend to _do _first and listen later. However, you _never should, _and if you ever want me to look at you again, you _never will _accuse me of working with him. Specially working with him against you."

Harry looked down. He wasn't sure what he should say. He was fed up of the lying, of the not knowing. He wanted Ginny to tell him everything once and for all; he wanted to be able to truly be a part of her life. He didn't know why he was being like this, he wasn't sure why he wasn't being more reasonable, but he was confused... here she was, making him angry like no one else, making him doubt her and yet he knew that he wouldn't survive without her.

"Explain yourself, then... What are you? Why haven't you told me you had a connection with Voldemort?" he asked her, looking at her with the light from the fire illuminating her face.

Ginny bit her lip and gulped once again. "What I saw today, Harry... I, it's the first time I've ever seen something like that."

She thought about telling him about the voice in her head, but she knew she couldn't; she wasn't ready.

"One thing is not being ready to tell me something, and another thing is to lie, Ginny. I'm not going to stand here like an idiot, believing false words," he told her seriously, although he could feel that she wouldn't lie to him so openly.

She eyed him incredulously. "Are you serious? I'm not lying to you, Harry! That's the first time I have EVER seen anything through someone else's eyes! I... I'm not totally over what happened in the Chamber and that still has an effect on me, but I have NEVER..." She quietened down for a second and then continued with a lower tone. "You know what? Why am I even explaining myself? If you don't want to believe me, you're not going to believe me, it's as easy as that."

Harry looked down and he suddenly felt the need to cry, he felt like oxygen wasn't reaching his lungs, he felt like he could faint any minute.

"Are-Are you...you're not lying?" Harry's asked and he winced as he saw Ginny's hurt expression.

She looked at him for a second. "I've already told you, Harry. There's _things_... from the Chamber... from the young Tom but, not this."

Harry breathed in and out a few times, trying to calm himself. Finally, he took a step forwards and took Ginny in his arms. She was right to slap him when she had, he couldn't believe he had even suggested that she would betray him like that, he should know by now that no matter how troubled she was, she would never turn her back on him.

"I'm sorry, I... Look," he spoke pulling back and looking into her eyes. "We're going to find out what's going on. We're going to talk to Dumbledore, ok? He'll help us find out what's going on with you."

Ginny shook her head. "No."

"What do you mean, 'no', Ginny? Dumbledore is experienced..."

"Harry, I said 'No'...do you know how many people know about your connection with Tom? You told me the other day that Sirius nearly got killed a few years back, didn't he? And all because it reached Voldemort. There are spies everywhere!" Ginny insisted.

Harry untangled his arms from hers. "You can trust Dumbledore."

Ginny shook her head once again. "I know Snape works for both sides, but I'm not risking it, Harry...Tom already wants me dead because he didn't finish his job five years ago, I'm not going to make it easier for him."

"Trust Dumbledore, trust _me,_" Harry continued saying.

"I trust you!" Ginny shouted. "Of course, I do... the slip I had... I was going to tell you anyway. I know it might seem like a lie, but it's the truth... I was going to let you know... let you help me."

"I can't help you, Ginny," Harry spoke. "I can't keep you in the dark!"

Ginny looked down. "If you tell him... then, I'm done, Harry. It's not a threat; it's simply the truth... If you leave my life in his hands, I'll run away to wherever I need to. You've seen what I can do, so don't underestimate me; If Dumbledore finds out about my powers or any other thing I've confided in you... I'll go back to my life before, and I swear I'll find a way."

Ginny started turning around, ready to leave him with his thoughts.

"You wouldn't do that," Harry suddenly said. "You wouldn't leave me."

Ginny sighed. A month ago she would have laughed at that, now she knew that he was most probably right.

"If I convinced myself that leaving was the best thing for both of us... yeah, I would," Ginny told him and, with that, she dissaparated.

Harry closed his eyes, realizing her last action was the best way to show him that she could carry out any wish she had. Leave it to Harry Potter to fall in love with the only human being who could Apparate in Hogwarts.

He walked up to his dormitory and slowly took the Marauder's map. He sighed with relief as he saw Ginny Weasley's name in the sixth-year girl's dormitory.

* * *

It had been two days; two horrible days, in Harry's opinion.

He still hadn't decided what he was going to do and Ginny still wasn't talking to him; he knew that she wouldn't until he had made his choice.

Why couldn't she just understand? If he wanted to talk to Dumbledore it was for her own safety, as well as the fact that this was key information for the war. She was so stubborn that he couldn't help the need to hex her until she came around, but he knew that no hex would do that and he also knew that there was no way that he could hex Ginny Weasley, she'd outdo him in any duel.

The worst thing was that she wasn't even coming down to dinners and lunches; Harry knew better than to think she wasn't eating, but it still made him feel uneasy. Every second that they spent apart was getting to him, not only mentally but physically, he could actually feel how drained his body was, how dizzy these feelings made him.

Hermione had asked what was going on yesterday, but Harry had dismissed her worries, telling her that it'd been a stupid fight that would be over soon enough, or at least he hoped it would.

He heard muttering and looked opposite him to find Hermione and Ron fighting in whispers. Ron looked up at Harry, ignoring Hermione's protests.

"What's going on, mate?" he asked. Harry turned to look at Hermione, who shrugged, indicating she hadn't said anything.

Harry shook his head. "What d'you mean?"

"You know what I mean. What happened with my sister?"

Harry gulped and then swore under his breath. He felt the need to glare at Hermione for letting this slip out, but she looked genuinely surprised too and he didn't want to get her in trouble if it really hadn't been her.

"I...well, I...I don't know, Ron," Harry spoke.

Ron rolled his eyes. He wasn't smart, he knew that... but he was not that clueless a guy. It didn't take a lot to figure out what had been going on between his best mate and his sister, everyone could see it.

"Fine, whatever, but just... solve this, ok? There's a war going on and I don't want someone to end up dead because my sister's got you in a foul mood or the wrong way around," Ron told him seriously.

Harry looked like he was about to say something, but he decided against it, stood up and left the Great Hall.

Hermione Granger turned to look at her boyfriend questionably. "You're okay with it?"

Ron rolled his eyes once again, irritating Hermione. "I have no idea what _is _going on between them, but he's happy and Dean says that the glare Harry threw him the other day made sure that it would hurt to even think of Ginny, so...let them do whatever they feel like..."

Hermione couldn't help the giggle that escaped her lips.

"What if they fall in love? What if they _have_ fallen in love?" Hermione asked him, causing Ron to choke on his orange juice as he let out a laugh.

"You've been reading far too many romance novels, Hermione."

* * *

Harry saw her red hair about ten metres away. She was walking beside Luna, a white text book in her hand as she spoke to the blonde girl.

"Gin! Ginny!" Harry shouted; nevertheless, Ginny didn't turn around, she simply continued walking.

Harry took a few quick steps and was beside her in less than 10 seconds.

"What is it, Harry?" Ginny asked, stopping and turning around.

Harry suddenly felt a little loss for words; he gave Luna a little wave, which she returned. The blonde girl then started walking ahead slowly.

He tried to grab Ginny's hand, but she pushed it away. "Are you going to stop avoiding me?"

"Are you going to choose if you're going to tell Dumbledore or not?" Ginny answered in response.

Harry was silent.

"That's what I thought," she spoke quietly before preparing to turn around again.

Harry grabbed her arm and turned her around so she was facing him. "Please, Gin... I love you."

Ginny laughed ironically. "Harry, that doesn't change anything... you know I'm not one of those girls... you can't just say you... it's not going to work on me, it's pathetic!"

Harry sighed deeply. "I'm just trying to do what's best for you, for everyone."

"And I've told you what the best for everyone is... whatever is going on with me is for me to figure out, and you, if I let you," Ginny spoke seriously. "I know what's best because that's what my instinct tells me; but if you feel your instinct telling you to go to Dumbledore... go, don't let me change your mind... I'll deal with the consequences then," Ginny let him know.

Obviously, she didn't want him to do that... if he did tell Dumbledore, she'd have to take matters into her own hands and she _would _leave him here; it's not that she thought the old man was evil, it's just that she thought he had been through too much and was only human, he _could _make mistakes.

"I don't want to lose you, I only want to help you," Harry protested.

Ginny shook her head. "Do you think going to Dumbledore is the right thing?"

"Yeah," Harry nodded. "I'm sure it is."

"Then go," she insisted. "I promise I won't go away immediately, I'll only do it if I think things will get out of hand. But, Harry, I can feel I will have to end up leaving, so don't get your hopes up, okay?"

Harry looked completely confused, not knowing what to say. Ginny caressed his cheek with her hand and planted a small kiss on his left cheek before moving away.

* * *

Harry walked up the stairs, a battle taking place in his head. It was late and he should probably be in bed, but he had to get this sorted.

Ginny had said that he should follow his instincts, but he really didn't think he could live without her, as crazy as it sounded, he really didn't think he could. There was this kind of pull between them that didn't allow him to.

"Ah... Harry," Dumbledore spoke as he saw Harry enter the room. "To what do I owe this visit?"

Harry ran a hand through his hair, his mind still moving rapidly; he'd come up here, hadn't he? That meant that, subconsciously, he was decided.

"Professor, I... Is there any way to see Voldemort's visions like I do? I mean, any other way," Harry tried to ask the old man without giving anything out; if he could avoid telling him all together, he would.

"Harry?" Dumbledore asked, asking a silent question as he said his name.

Harry moved forward and sat down. "I was just wondering... could there be anyone else to have this connection like me or would you have to survive the killing curse-"

"Where is this coming from, Harry?" the headmaster asked him with raised eyebrows, yet his face still looked peaceful and calm.

Harry shook his head. "I... I really was just wondering-"

"Well," Dumbledore, who didn't look really convinced, started. "I don't know. I'm sure there could be reasons for it, rational reasons, but why this question, Harry? Truthfully? Does this have anything to do with one of your friends? Because, if you know someone who is having visions, they need to be treated like you."

"Treated like me, how?" Harry asked, confused once again.

Dumbledore stood up. "They need to receive Occlumency lessons like you."

"They've not been much use to me," Harry retorted under his breath, but Dumbledore smiled sympathetically, obviously having heard him.

"Yes they have, Harry... but it's very hard to block out a mind with such power, especially when you're sleeping; how long has it been, Harry, since you had a vision while you were awake?" Dumbledore asked him, trying to make a valid point.

Harry sighed, seeing he was right. "Years," he answered clearly. Still, his head was sending him mixed signals; he didn't know what to do. Maybe _he_ could teach Ginny Occlumency and then Dumbledore wouldn't even need to know, and then Ginny would be happy, and she'd stay.

"Harry, will you tell me now what this is about?" Dumbledore asked the young man.

Harry shook his head. "I really was just wondering... if, you know, there's someone like me out there... that knows how I would feel."

Dumbledore nodded as Harry stood up. "You do trust me, do you not, Harry?"

Harry turned around for a second and nodded. "I do."

Harry paused for a second and then turned back to look at Dumbledore and walked towards the professor.

"There's something I need to tell you, Sir, but you have to give me your word that it will _never _get out..."

"My word, Harry," Dumbledore spoke with a knowing smile that also reflected sadness. He knew that whatever Harry was going to do know might cost him a friendship, but he also knew that if Harry's instincts had lead him to tell the old man, it was for a reason.

* * *

"Can I ask you a question?" a hushed voice cut through the silence of the night.

The red-head blinked a few times before leaning over to face the bed next to hers, holding her head with her hand. "Yeah," she whispered.

"Why did you leave?"

Anna hadn't really talked to Ginny that much since she had arrived, a few good mornings and meaningless comments, but none of the girls that shared the dormitory with Ginny had sought a real friendship with her. But that was alright; Ginny had Luna, who kept her entertained most of the time and then she had Harry, who normally did the same when he wasn't acting like a git.

Ginny pressed her lips together. "I...The Chamber shook me up a lot; it was for the best," she simply said.

Ginny could barely see the other girl, but she could swear she saw her shake her head. "I'm sorry," the voice came again. "I just...I always wondered and kind of felt a little guilty... we left you behind that year, didn't we? You had that crush on Harry and we all used to laugh and we were a little cruel... as cruel as a Gryffindor eleven-year-old can be, but, still, we were... anything but nice."

Ginny snorted silently. "Don't worry... I was a mess that year, it's the past."

The girl made a sound that Ginny couldn't really understand. "Good night, Ginny."

"Yeah," Ginny spoke quietly. "Goodnight, Anna."

It took ten minutes until Ginny could hear Anna's soft snores and she could finally relax, she had the bad habit of not being able to fall asleep before everyone around her also was.

Her eyelids began feeling heavy and she closed her eyes, beginning to drift off.

"Hey," a deep quiet voice suddenly spoke, startling Ginny.

She put her hand in front of her, ready to stun the intruder when she realized it was Harry.

"Bloody hell, Potter!" she muttered under her breath. "I could've killed did you get up here!"

Harry chuckled quietly as he pointed at the broomstick that was next to the door. He began pulling the bed's curtains around the two of them. "Could you...?" he asked in a whisper, pointing at the cubicle that surrounded the bed.

Ginny understood and cast a silencing charm silently. "Done," she spoke, now in her normal tone.

Harry looked at her for a second, not knowing what to say to her. He tried to think rationally but he couldn't, not with how she looked. Her hair was a mess, sticking up in different directions and her face was completely make-up free, all he could see was completely natural. He couldn't brush off the need to kiss every single freckle that made its way from her rosy cheeks to her straight nose, she was truly a beauty.

"Potter?" Ginny asked for the second time, waving a hand in front of the seventeen-year-old. Harry blinked twice, coming out of his trance. "Why are you here?"

Harry looked down for a second and then shifted on the bed, taking seat closer to Ginny. He offered her his hand and she hesitantly took it, but not without eying Harry carefully.

"I talked to Dumbledore."

The minute those words left his mouth, Ginny's face fell and her hand was out of his in a second. Harry felt his insides sink to the bottom; he wanted what was best for her, but he couldn't stand her leaving or hating him. He wanted to be truthful, he wanted that with all his might, but he knew what the best thing to do was, and it was to keep them together, if he had to lie to do that, he would.

Ginny was about to get out of the bed when Harry grabbed her arm and looked into her eyes, Ginny could feel his fear.

"I-I didn't tell him anything. We can solve this together, I can help you," Harry spoke, trying to remain calm.

Ginny looked at him for a second. There was something about him that was off, she could feel her gut tell her, she could actually feel the mixture of emotions that she was sure Harry was feeling. She shook her head. Harry wouldn't lie to her, he wouldn't look into her eyes and lie... she trusted him and he trusted her and she needed to get used to that.

She put her arms around him and pressed her lips against his, letting his tongue make its way through her teeth and battle against her own for dominance. This was right, she told herself, this was what she was supposed to feel like when she was kissed.

She pulled back. "Thank you... for trusting me, for listening," she spoke.

Harry ran a hand through her hair, not caring that it was tangled and not as smooth as usual; he pushed her fringe behind her ear and shifted so that he was leaning against the wooden headboard, with Ginny curled up against him, her head leaning on his chest and his arm around her waist.

"Can you tell me something?" Ginny asked him innocently, reminding him of a small girl. "One of you adventures, what did you do the year I left?"

Harry looked down at her and pressed a kiss to the top of her head.

"Third year? Well, that wasn't the most interesting, but there was a certain punch given by Hermione..."

Half-an hour later, Harry was still talking quietly when he realized Ginny had dozed off.

He smiled sadly to himself and moved her carefully so that she was resting her head on the pillow instead of his chest. His smile grew a little as he realized that she had fallen asleep with him looking at her, two weeks ago she had confessed that she couldn't.

Yet, the smile dissapeard as soon as it come and Harry slid of the bed placing a light kiss on Ginny's temple and looking at her with guilt marked on his face.

"Merlin, Ginny, I hope someday you can forgive me."


	14. Chapter 12:Two

***UPDATED***

Chapter 12 - Two

* * *

_Two roads diverged in a wood, and I took the one less travelled by, and that has made all the difference._ **Robert Frost **

* * *

"Fine, now you have to build the wall with all your might. Imagine a material that you think can't be broken, something that is strong enough to restrain everything," Harry's voice sounded as Ginny closed her eyes and carried out his orders.

Ginny nodded. "Done," she spoke with her eyes still closed, but a smirk decorated her face. When Harry started speaking again, she opened her eyes and cut him off. "Harry, trust me, I've got this covered. I already told you I'd looked into Occlumency before. No one is going to _get _into my head."

She was saying the truth. It hadn't taken her long to look into it after the Chamber; however, it only blocked intruders, it didn't block what was already in her brain. She had read numerous books about it, and she was pretty sure that she had her brain completely blocked; still, since she had seen the vision, she didn't want to take any chances.

Harry shook his head at her with a laugh. "Fine, if you're so sure...I'll perform the spell and we'll see."

Ginny bit her lip. "No," she said quietly.

She heard Harry growl.

"I need to, if you think its okay...just let me perform the spell," the young man insisted as he looked at the girl who was sitting opposite him with her legs crossed and an unhappy look on her face. "If you've got the wall built..."

"What if I don't? You don't want to get into my head, Potter. I'm serious," Ginny spoke as she l back and rested her head on her pillow. She felt Harry shuffle on the big bed and come sit beside her. He had come in through the window this time, not like the last time when he had flown up the staircase, having to cast silencing charms on all the portraits that threatened to tell on him.

"You know what I don't want, _Weasley_? _Voldemort_ getting in there..." Harry announced a little angrily. "So just let me do the spell, if I can't get past then we're perfect, if I can, I'll get out before I see anything you don't want me to see."

Ginny took her left hand to her head as she looked up at Harry pleadingly. "I don't want you to see what I'm like, Harry."

Harry laughed it off, grabbing her hand and pushing her up. Pressing a kiss to her forehead, he said, "I already know what you're like, Gin. Nothing in there is going to scare me off."

Ginny sighed; knowing that she wasn't going to win this particular battle, she shrugged and closed her eyes.

Harry raised his wand and concentrated, this was an incredibly hard spell and he knew he couldn't hold it for long, but he trusted that he'd be able to do it, for Ginny. He closed his eyes and flicked the wand. "Legillimens," he spoke softly.

He felt his own mind leave his body and follow the white light that the spell had made. He felt himself smile with surprise as he reached Ginny's personal _wall_. It was him. Ginny's _wall _was Harry Potter, standing in the middle of a white room with his wand raised against the intruder.

Harry tried to get past the Harry standing before him but he found himself pushed back by a spell cast by the wizard in question.

He smiled again realizing that Ginny was safe, and he found himself ready to leave when he was pushed back towards the other Harry_. _The other Harry, who had blocked him out a second ago, was now standing, with his head tilted towards Harry in some sort of bow; yet, he looked like he was hesitant to do this. Harry passed him easily; a wall similar to the one outside the Burrow started appearing in mid air but the wall left a space for him to pass by. Harry wondered if he should do this; for a second, he was surprised at how easily he was going through this, Dumbledore had assured him it would be a very hard experience to deal with and he would probably only get to see the wall before being pulled out.

He didn't have the right to continue, he knew that... especially not after what he had done to Ginny, but, as he found himself wanting to leave, he also found himself not being able to.

Images began appearing, but they went far too quickly for Harry to even register what he was seeing. He took a few steps and found Ginny's mind settle on one scene, a scene that had taken place three days ago, where she was leaning against Harry's chest while Harry leaned on a huge tree close to Hagrid's hut.

As he became distracted with the scene, he began to hear something else. It was a hollow deep voice that resounded gravely. He couldn't distinguish the words, but he could hear the mocking in them, the darkness that fell over him consumed his mind immediately and he started running, running like he had never run before.

"Harry!" Ginny shouted as she shook him. "Potter!"

Harry winced as he opened his eyes; his head felt like it had been hit with a bludger. He looked up at Ginny, who had both her hands on his shoulders. "Potter?"

"Weasley?" he asked, teasing her a little. He then became serious, remembering what he had just experienced.

Ginny punched him playfully but, seeing the expression on his face, she also became serious. "What did you see? I blocked you, right? I...I'm sure I did...I put the burrow wall after you passed..."

Harry eyed her carefully. "What happened when you built the wall?"

Ginny raised her eyebrows. "You went out, and when I opened my eyes you were kind of unresponsive; I mean, you were still sitting there, clutching you wand, your eyes closed...but you didn't get past, right?"

Harry was tempted to lie to her, it would be easier that way; but one lie was enough, they didn't need any more.

"Yeah, I kind of did," Harry spoke, watching Ginny's eyes widened. He took her hand in his, rubbing his thumb over her palm soothingly. "Don't worry, though. I didn't see anything... well, I saw you and me leaning against the tree a few days ago and..."

He didn't mention the feelings part, he would have to run that through Dumbledore, but, hesitantly, he did mention what had come later on.

"I heard a voice," he confessed. This time Ginny gulped. "It... It sounded like _him._"

Ginny looked down. "The Chamber, it still haunts me sometimes."

Harry took Ginny's chin in his hand and levelled her eyes with his own. "What is 'sometimes'?"

Ginny lifted her hand and ran it through his messy hair, fiddling with it. "Not so much, lately..."

"Before you came?" he asked.

She paused and looked straight into his eyes. "All the time."

There was a silence, not really uncomfortable but it left both of the wondering what the other was thinking. Finally, after a minute Harry spoke.

"So, I'm your wall?" he spoke, causing Ginny to look at him like he had gone crazy. He knew it was pathetic and immature, that he should deal with the news now, but he didn't want to see the look of hurt and anger that covered Ginny's expression when the subject came up.

It took her a second to reply and a few second more to smile with him. "I guess. But only because you barely let me out of your sight."

"Oh, is that it?" he joked, wrapping his arms around her and pushing her down onto the mattress, leaning gently on her.

"Yeah, Potter, that's exactly it."

* * *

"How are you feeling?" the man asked as he entered the room.

Tonks looked up and gave him a half smile. "Good enough for you to stop coming."

Remus chuckled as he put new flowers in the glass vase on the table beside the bed. He walked towards her and gave her a lingering kiss, leaving her a little stunned.

She looked at him with a frown; she should be happy, but she couldn't help but wonder if this was only a phase, if he would leave her again when it was decided that she was alright.

"What are you doing here, Remus?"She asked, causing the werewolf to look at her with raised eyebrows. He continued looking at her as he sat down on the bed and tucked a piece of stranded hair behind her ear. He also frowned as he realized where the question was coming from.

He shook his head. "You nearly died, if Harry... you could be dead, Dora, dead!"

"I know that, trust me, I know that... but it still doesn't answer my question."

She stood up a little, it was getting easier to move but it still hurt.

"To think that I had lost you, that I _might _lose you... it's selfish, and maybe if I was stronger, younger, I'd be able to push myself away, to push _you_ away but, if you want me, I'm here... I'm here for you and only you and... I love you. I don't want to get past this war or any other thing if it's not to have a future with you," he explained, looking at Tonks, waiting for her reaction.

Tonks looked at him for a second and, faster than you can say Quidditch, her lips were pressed against his. "Took you long enough, Remus Lupin, took you long enough..."

* * *

"Easily, you say?" Dumbledore asked curiously.

Harry sighed as he nodded. "It was so easy, to be there...until...until I really, truly, wanted to go out and it was just as easy."

He wasn't going to speak about the voice or Ginny's powers, that didn't concern Dumbledore, but the connection, the vision... Harry knew something wasn't right, and as much as he wanted to do this with Ginny, he knew they were too young; too inexperience to figure out what exactly was going on with them.

Dumbledore was standing up beside the sitting Harry, patting his phoenix softly and with care.

"What is your opinion, Harry?" the old man asked.

Harry looked up at him, confused. "What do you mean, sir?"

Dumbledore walked behind the desk and sat down, so that he was opposite Harry and they were looking at each other without difficulty.

"What do you think about this new revelation? Do you know why it might be?" the man questioned. Harry simply shrugged, looking a little angry.

He breathed in slowly. "This _new _observation might not be an observation at all, maybe Ginny's just really bad at occlumency. Besides, with all due respect, professor Dumbledore, if I _knew_ anything, I wouldn't have talked to you behind Ginny's back, I would be dealing with it on my own... and with her.

And it was true, if Harry had come to Dumbledore it was because he knew that the old man was the wisest man he knew and, even if Ginny didn't trust him, Harry _did_; Harry would trust Dumbledore with anything, he was sure that Dumbledore was the right choice, that he was their biggest chance of finding out what exactly it was that was happening.

A small knowing smile appeared on Dumbledore's face. "Indeed you wouldn't have, Harry. _That_, however, is not what I was hinting at... I wasn't trying to get information out of you; I was simply wanting to know if you had thought about something that might be creating this. Do you have no thoughts on this subject?"

Harry bit his lip as he ran a hand through his hair. "Well, I..."

"Go on, Harry. I promise I will not voice my opinion until you've explained completely," the headmaster insisted.

"I mean, I have no idea but Ginny said that, maybe, we shared magic accidently..." Harry stuttered.

"Shared magic, Harry? I haven't read as much as I would like on the subject but I do doubt that it can be done by accident, I have heard it takes a lot of power to accomplish it..."

Harry sighed. "Well, that's the best I've got. I was reading the book from which Ginny gathered this information and it sounded like it might be plausible. You see, it said that, when two people are in close proximity and their power is uncontrolled, sometimes, well...I guess it really _is _pathetic.

"No," Dumbledore spoke clearly. "Not pathetic at all... that is some very good thinking you've got going on, Harry. However, I doubt it's the case."

Harry listened to the old man carefully.

"You see, I'd thought more about bonds than sharing magic but bonds are a very curious things, not to mention mysterious. There's no such thing as a 'common' bond, since every bond is different. There are bonds that are sealed by a contract, like the marriage bond, which links two people together, but it's not permanent and it doesn't help them read each other's minds or anything along those lines, it only... straightens out, you could say, the love between the couple; of course, like I just said, no two bonds are the same because, obviously, no two people are the same. Anyhow, I was saying... the strongest bond is a soul bond, but there hasn't been a bond like that since, if I remember correctly, the year nine hundred and twenty three. It is formed with a connection since the first day of life, when two people are born on the same moment and share blood immediately," Dumbledore continued explaining. "You can see now why this bond is so rare, it is almost impossible for this to happen accidentally, and to do it on purpose... well, the punishment for that is the Dementor's kiss."

Harry was surprised. "The Dementor's... why? Why such a strict punishment?"

Dumbledore smiled sadly at the boy. "A soul bond means sharing your soul, Harry; it means that the two people can never be apart. If one gets ill, so does the other; if one gets angry, so does the other; if one dies..."

"So does the other," Harry finished off as he nodded in understand. "Yeah, I get why it's so... but, the bond that's formed when you save someone, what's _that_ bond like? Because, maybe that's what's going on, right? Maybe I formed a bond with Ginny when I saved her from the Chamber!"

"You're completely right, you probably _did _from a bond with the young Miss Weasley" Dumbledore admitted. "However, Harry, you have saved other people's lived, have you not?

Harry looked down, thinking. "Yeah," he thought out loud. "I have...And, I mean, Katie, Angie and Cedric are very good friends, they are very deer to me but, it's not like they're seeing my visions. And, Ginny...Well, I barely...I basically ignored her after the chamber..."

"Do you not think it's a bond because, up until this summer, Miss Weasley wasn't even an important figure in your life?" Dumbledore asked.

Harry almost felt guilty for a second. He couldn't believe that he had barely cared. Of course, he was only twelve, but he hadn't ever been seriously worried about Ginny, had he? At least not before she appeared again.

"Not really," Harry confessed hesitantly. "I'm more keen on the sharing magic idea... How could I have formed a bond with Ginny when... well, I asked Ron how she was and I wondered about her, but nothing really pulled me to do any more. Is it just me or does that make me an awful person?"

Dumbledore laughed. "That _made _you a child, dear Harry. Besides, I think you've made up for that, have you not?"

Harry shook his head. "No," he said seriously. "I don't think I ever will. But that's not the point anymore. The point is that I don't think I have a bond with Ginny but, we have something...that's probably why I was able to get through her barrier...that's why her wall let me in!"

"Well, Harry, maybe it's something else or, maybe, this _is _a bond, one that has gone differently because you and Ginny grew apart and so the bond waited too long to take its natural cause. But, Harry, even if it's not the case, even if what you and Miss Weasley have is something different... you have to be careful, because, I think it might mean that if Tom reaches you... he reaches her too."

Harry nodded solemnly. "What I told you... about not telling a soul about Ginny... it still stands. I would Obliviate you if I could, but I know it would be useless and you don't deserve that treatment, you've only helped me... us."

"Yes, Harry, that's all I have tried to do, but don't keep secrets too long. If we can't trust the ones we love, then we can trust no one and that is no way to win a war," Dumbledore spoke wisely.

"I did what was right, I couldn't lose her... I just hope she can forgive me when it's time to tell her," Harry worried. If there was a God out there, he hoped that he was listening. He stood up and started leaving when Dumbledore's voice stopped him.

"Harry, we need to talk about the Horcruxes. We're going to try to get the cup before Christmas," the headmaster warned.

Harry turned around, looking uncertain. "Before Christmas? Do you think that's a good idea, professor? Shouldn't people have at least a peaceful Christmas before they are forced into a battle that will probably end a lot of lives?"

"Harry, there's nothing peaceful about these times we're living, the earlier this war ends, the less deaths and the less pain. The earlier he dies, the better for all of us," Dumbledore told the young man in front of him.

"Except, maybe, for me," Harry announced. He understood Dumbledore's logic, but he was scared, scared that he only had months to live, weeks even... he didn't want his life to end, he would leave too much behind.

Surprisingly, Dumbledore didn't contradict Harry, or try to make it better; Dumbledore looked at him with hard blazing eyes and a frown. "Yes, Harry, except for you."

Harry then turned around and began to open the door; however, he swore he heard Dumbledore mutter some word.

"So, enjoy the time left."

* * *

"Harry!" Hermione's voice was heard as Harry entered through the portrait hole.

Harry raised his hand a little and gave her and Ron a small wave. Both of them were sitting in the loveseat beside the fire and Harry had a feeling that they had been waiting for him.

"Where were you, mate? You disappeared after potions," Ron pointed out when Harry sat in one of the armchairs opposite them.

Harry ran a hand through his hair; he had started doing that the summer before sixth year, Sirius told him that he had started doing it when the Potters had taken him in, since James used to do it at all times, so Harry grew fond of the gesture and started doing it subconsciously whenever he was feeling pensive.

"Dumbledore," Harry answer quickly. He then continued in a lower tone. "Horcrux talk and stuff."

Hermione looked curious. "Anything new?"

"He wants to do it soon," Harry answer. "He wants to end this and it's making me nervous. I know it's not like I'm walking into my own death but... I don't think I'm ready, and I'm scared for you, for all of you, there will be a battle, I'm sure of that, and people are going to die."

Ron looked at Harry sadly. "Everyone who fights will know what they're in for, Harry. Don't worry about us, worry about you, you're the one who has to make it to the end."

Harry looked down at the floor. "Yeah, I guess I do. I'm just gonna go upstairs, maybe go to sleep early, I'm having an early lesson with Remus tomorrow."

Hermione and Ron shared a look. "Are you sure you're...?" Hermione started.

Harry nodded, looking at her intently. "Yeah, don't worry, Hermione, I'm fine. By the way, have you see Ginny?"

He had almost forgotten about the fact that he was in the present. Right now, all he could think about was the future battle that would take place soon, the only thing he could see in his head were dead bodies, Ron's, Sirius's, Hermione', Mrs Weasley and, most of all, Ginny's... her red hair sprawled on the floor, her fierceness all gone, her hypnotising brown eyes opened lifelessly, with no spark. The images had made him forget that he still had weeks and he needed to make the most of them. If he was going to leave, he wanted to leave after having her know how much she made him feel, how, surprisingly, in a few weeks, she had become his main reason for existence.

Hermione's voice shook him away from his thought. "She asked were you where about three hours ago, then she went off somewhere. Are you going to look for her?"

"Maybe later," Harry answered, eying Ron carefully. The ginger boy was looking at him calmly, not seeming surprised at his question or answer. "Yeah, I'll go look for her later. If she comes over, tell her I'm upstairs, will you?"

"We'll let her know, mate," Ron answered, looking at Harry. "I'm sure she'll be back soon."

Harry continued looking at his best friend with a raised eyebrow, but he decided that he'd talk to him later on.

* * *

Ginny entered the portrait hole, looking around to see if Harry was around. She took off her jacket and welcomed the warmth of the common room. It might be just the end of September, but it was chilly outside, especially once the sun went down. A few hours before, when she couldn't find Harry, she had left her things in her dormitory and taken a long walk along the grounds. It was risky. She knew it was. Being alone was never a good idea for Ginny Weasley, _he _had free entrance to her thoughts when she was alone; however, she had learned to control that. Thinking of Harry, of his eyes and the way the twinkled when he looked at her... _he _couldn't stand being in her head when those thoughts came along.

She had nearly taken a broom. For the first time in five years she had touched the rusty wood and she had felt the magic flow through her hand to the old stick, yet, she wasn't able to, just remembering the feeling of freedom was too much. She knew that if she went on that broom, she'd loose all defence she had against Voldemort. Accidentally, Harry had already broken down her walls; he obviously didn't realize that breaking down her walls so that he could go in meant also letting the real Voldemort enter her more easily.

After realizing she couldn't fly again, she came back, slowly, hoping Harry would be in the common room so that they could talk or whatever that would take her mind off flying or Voldemort.

She continued to look around, finally setting her eyes on her brother and Hermione, who were looking at each other attentively, looking like they were ready to jump into bed together. Ginny laughed slightly at the image as she remembered the summer before her first year, when Ron came home speaking wonders of Harry Potter and then speaking even more about Hermione Granger, even if 'wonders' wasn't how she would describe the opinions he voiced about her.

If Ron and Hermione had been able to get through their notable differences and be happy, then so could she, right? Harry and she _could _work out, could they not? She didn't want to think about the future, it was pathetic... anyone of them could die in a second; a green flash or a fall, or a poisoned egg or something could end their lives, so, no, she didn't want to think about the future; however, she did want to think that she wouldn't always be this troubled, that she could be normal... with time and with Harry.

"Ginny!" Ron called out, causing the red-headed girl to come out of her trance. She walked over to the couple slowly. "Where were you?"

Ginny grimaced at the slight tone of accusation in Ron's voice but she decided to be nice. "Walking, thinking..."

She was going to ask about Harry, but she didn't know if it was the best idea, she knew that he didn't want Ron to know about them, even if she didn't quite understand why.

"Harry was looking for you," Hermione then spoke, making Ginny smile; it seemed she didn't even have to ask in the end. "It was only a few minutes ago, he said to tell you that he's up stairs."

"Great," Ginny spoke casually. "Do you know where he was?"

Hermione then looked at Ron, obviously questioning if she should give Ginny an honest answer.

"Harry will tell you," Ron said, looking up to his sister.

The girl nodded, starting to walk up the stairs. Normally, she would've gotten angry at the level of secrecy that the trio had; it wasn't like they knew more things than she did. Harry had explained about the prophecy and the Horcruxes; he had told her that if she was with him she needed to know and that she had to keep herself out of Voldemort's way too because her thoughts had just become a lot more valuable. But the secrecy didn't bother her because it wasn't real, Harry didn't know how to keep secrets, at least not from her.

She was about to enter the room when she saw Harry coming out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around him. She found herself laugh about the fact that even if they were basically dating, a thing she had never done before was that she had never really been able to admire him without clothes on. He was muscular, but he was still slim, she could see that he hadn't been able to change that, no matter how many years had passed. She then realized he wasn't alone; Dean was sitting on his bed, sketching something. She continued looking through the door, filled with curiosity.

* * *

"Hey," Harry spoke as he saw Dean sitting on his bed. The teenager turned around and offered Harry a smile.

"Hi," he answered. "A bit early to shower, isn't it? You always do it before going to bed and by that time, the rest of us are all asleep."

Harry chuckled. "I don't know if I should answer your question or run away because I'm pretty sure that knowing my showering habits has to be called stalking."

Dean laughed too, knowing that Harry was joking; when you live with someone for nearly seven years, you tend to know a lot about them. He leaned against his headboard and continued sketching as Harry got changed into a brown baggy tracksuit.

"What are you drawing?" Harry asked, walking towards Dean. The dark-skinned boy, however, pushed the piece of paper away from Harry's prying eyes.

Dean shook his head. "'S nothing'," he answered. "Not finished, anyway."

Harry chuckled at the boy's shyness when it came to his paintings. Yet, there was something weird about the way he had hidden it, too anxiously. Harry decided against taking it by magic, he didn't want to get into a fight with Dean.

"So, what are you doing up here? Don't you tend to draw from life?" Harry asked curiously, as he put some socks on. He was going to look for Ginny and then he was going to go straight to sleep, he was tired.

Dean looked up. "Yes, I... I'm not really drawing, I'm doodling, I'm...I'm thinking about stuff... Seamus, my parents..."

Harry nodded in understanding. "Did he have a funeral? Seamus?"

Dean shook his head. "Nah, I only found out by accident. They left the bodies in his house. I mean, I buried them in their backyard, but I couldn't do more... it was dangerous to go out, I had already risked a lot."

"No one expected anymore, Dean; I know Seamus didn't..." Harry reasoned as Dean nodded absently.

The boy then got off the bed and started to walk towards the door. "Can I ask you something, Harry? Without ya gettin' angry?"

Harry nodded hesitantly.

"Weasley... is she... well, is she free?" he asked. Harry breathed in, he knew he should've been expecting it, but he had hoped that his previous glares would've thrown Dean off. The boy looked at Harry for a second and shook his head at himself. "You know what? Don't answer... I'm sorry I even brought it up."

Harry shook his head. "No... I... She's taken, Dean, even if she'd kill me if she heard that choice of words. I'm sorry."

"Don't be, you deserve her more than me... I just, I had to ask or I would regret it, get me?" he asked. "Besides, I knew the answer; everyone knows you two have something going on."

Harry was going to contradict him, but Dean left before he could. Ginny took a few steps back, hiding behidn the door so that Dean would not see her on the way out.

* * *

Harry fell onto his bed. How had he got here? Last year things were so much easier. Sirius and Dumbledore searched for the Horcruxes and he lived his life like a normal teenager, with a normal girlfriend and with happy and normal friends.

"I'll give you a knut for them," said a sweet voice coming from the door.

Harry sat up a little and smiled slightly at Ginny, who was walking towards him. "How long have you been there?" he asked her.

"Don't change the subject," she ordered, sitting down beside him. Still, he gave her a look that indicated she should answer his question. "Let's see... I've been there long enough to notice that you look far too good without a t-shirt and to hear you say that I'm taken..."

Harry laughed, putting his hands on Ginny's hips and moving her so she was sitting next to him. "Well, you are, aren't you?"

Ginny raised her eyebrows at Harry. "I wouldn't use the verb 'taken'... but, yeah, I guess I am..."

Harry smiled and kissed the top of her head softly. _This_, this moment that was so comfortable and natural was the reason why, even though his life was so much easier last year, he wouldn't ever want to go back. Ginny might not be the most normal girl out there, but she was the girl for him; she understood him and he felt like he didn't have to think when he was with her, he just acted.

"So," Ginny spoke again, leaning against Harry, "do I have to raise my offer to a sickle, or will you just give me a piece of your thoughts."

Harry smiled at her. He didn't even think about not telling her, she needed to know what he was in for. "I was speaking to Dumbledore, before."

Ginny nodded, realizing that that was the answer to the question that Hermione and Ron hadn't wanted to answer. "Anything interesting?"

He suddenly started debating if he should tell her about the bond idea but he decided against it... he'd talk to her about that when he told her the truth, but he had to get her to understand why he was doing what he was doing and he had to make sure that she understood that she couldn't leave. "Horcruxes. Dumbledore... he wants to get the one in Gringotts."

Ginny nodded again, slowly, trying to understand where Harry was going with this.

Harry then continued. "When we get that one... Voldemort will know about the Horcruxes... and then he'll come find me and there will be a battle; with a bit of luck, the final battle."

Ginny turned around and gave Harry a gentle kiss as she caressed his arm softly. "And then you and him... it'll be just the two of you."

Harry gave her another kiss. "Yeah."

"Aren't you scared?" Ginny asked, feeling a little scared herself. He could imagine the horrible scene; Harry lying lifelessly on the ground, his glasses discarded and his wand snapped a few metres away, Voldemort's eyes looking at him with disgust and a hand raised in the air in victory.

The teenage boy moved in the bed so that he was facing Ginny directly. "For me... a bit, I don't... I don't want to die, but I can deal with that... death is nothing but the next biggest adventure... I'm scared for you, for all of you. I'm scared to see you lying dead on the ground and I know I won't have the strength to end it if that's the case."

"Yeah, you will," she argued. "Saving people thing, remember?"

He managed a small laugh. "I'm scared that I'm leading you on," he finally admitted as Ginny felt the strong urge to laugh.

"Leading me on? Harry, I think that's hardly how you could describe our relationship. You're not leading me on, I know perfectly well that you're a target and that, if he finds out, that makes me a target too... but I'm already a target, Harry... I've told you thousands of times, Voldemort doesn't like leaving stuff undone, he wants to finish me," Ginny explained carefully.

"That wasn't what I was thinking when I said I'm leading you on... I... I don't know if I have a future, Gin, you know that... I can't even think beyond next week and I'm scared that, if I die, I'll leave you alone."

Ginny now laughed. "Firstly, you're not going to die. Secondly, what makes you think I'll be alone if you die? It wouldn't take me more than a second to find someone..."

"Don't joke," Harry interrupted her seriously. He knew she was trying to lighten the mood and, of course, if he died, he would want nothing more than for her to find someone else and be happy, but he didn't want to think like that.

Ginny reached for his face and ran a hand through his messy black hair. "I don't want to think about that," she confessed.

Harry looked up at her, surprised at how alike their minds were. "You're right," he said. "We shouldn't think about that. You know what we should think about?"

Ginny eyed him carefully as she shrugged.

"We should think about telling your brother," he spoke, causing Ginny to go a little wide-eyed.

"I thought you didn't want to tell my brother," Ginny told him, still a little confused about his new revelation.

Harry shrugged. "I thought he might get angry."

"At you?" Ginny asked.

Harry chuckled. "No. At you," he confessed.

Ginny laughed at all.

"Don't laugh," Harry warned. "Your brother can get pretty protective when it comes to me and Hermione. He'll probably have a long chat with you about not cheating on me or snogging me in public and... of course, he'll have to threaten you so that you protect my virtue."

Ginny looked at him with a half-small. "You _are_ joking, aren't you?"

"Not for a second, Weasley."


	15. Chapter 13:Calm Before The Storm

_***UPDATED***_

Chapter 13 - The Calm before the Storm

* * *

"_**Calm before the storm, if that certain party is on board."**_ Support Your Local Gunfighter

* * *

**"O**h, god...he's at it again," Ron muttered as he stared at Harry.

It's not like it _really_bothered him. He was perfectly aware that Harry Potter was the most honourable man Ginny had ever been with, he also knew that he had lost the right to interfere with Ginny's life the moment he let himself not care about her; however, did his punishment really have to be watching his best friend ogle at her with drool falling all over his chin? Well, maybe he wasn't exactly drooling, but he knew that he was close to doing it.

Hermione rolled her eyes at him. "Ron, most of the male population of Hogwarts has been drooling over your sister since she came back, you should be happy that Harry is the one who's actually allowed to."

Ron muttered something under his breath and tried to distract himself by capturing Hermione in a kiss, but that only worked for a few seconds, given the fact that she had a book on her lap.

"Ron, come on," Hermione tried. "You know you're happy about it. He came up to you and told you, and you know he'll treat her like a princess, what more can you ask for? You can't tell me you haven't noticed the change in her, he's changed her, and she's happy with him... he's happy with her, happier than ever."

"I know that, but what if she messes it up? I think Harry trusts her too much..." Ron spoke, and then he suddenly became more serious. "Is it me, or is it really bad that I can't trust my own sister?"

Hermione shrugged. "We've never liked Snape, we've always thought he was playing for the other side, but, like Harry always says, Dumbledore trusts him and we trust Dumbledore, so that means that we trust Snape. I think this is the same; Harry trusts Ginny, we trust Harry so...we trust Ginny. You just said it, when Harry warms up to someone, he gives them all... but how much does it take him to warm up to them? He's not someone who trusts easily, if he trusted Ginny so quickly, it means something... besides, no matter how these last years of her life have been, she was truly brought up by your parents, she's a real Weasley, and real Weasleys don't really turn bad, they might be stirred, but they know where they're meant to be in the end."

Ron looked at his girlfriend with a smile. "That's a real Weasley talking," he told her, making her blush.

She smiled and looked back down at her book. "Maybe someday."

Ginny watched Harry sitting on the sofa, staring at her as she tried to teach Colin how to do a super sensory charm. He hadn't taken his eyes off her in over an hour, and she had seen her brother grunting as he realized; right now she didn't know what she wanted more, to bat bogey her brother for being a git, or reach Harry and tell him to stop staring before he burnt holes in her.

She decided, for the sake of everyone in the room, that she wouldn't do the first; it would be a better idea to go with the second.

"You've got the hang of it, Colin," she told the boy. "Just repeat it a few times and it'll be great."

The boy looked up and smiled at her. "Thanks, Ginny, I'd be lost if it weren't for you."

Ginny, uncharacteristically, smiled back. She liked Colin more than anyone else in her year, with the exception of Luna; he was nice and he didn't judge or get into anyone else's business, yes, he was naïve and sometimes that bothered Ginny, but he was still a good guy and she didn't mind helping him out.

The red-head turned and started walking towards Harry, whose face was now decorated with a smile. Ginny smiled back and gently sat down on his lap. A few people looked at them, but Ginny did her best to ignore them; she didn't like it, she hated that people couldn't mind their own business, but she had always turned heads; once it had been for being the only Weasley girl, another time it was for being the youngest, then it had been for opening the chamber, afterwards it had been for her 'figure' and now, after so many years trying to avoid it, it was for being Harry Potter's girlfriend.

"So, you've finally remembered you have a boyfriend?" Harry asked her as she pulled back from the kiss.

She rolled her eyes; she didn't really think that word fit. Harry and she weren't really 'dating'... but when it had come to explain it to Ron, they had decided that it would be the easiest way to make him understand.

"You," she told him, changing the subject, "shouldn't stare so much. My dear brother looked like he was going to have a seizure from gritting his teeth so tightly."

Harry put his hand on her back and interlaced his fingers with a few loose strands of her hair, which was tied in a messy ponytail.

"I wouldn't have to if you didn't put Creevey over me," he told her, luckily for him, Ginny knew that he was only joking. "He already gets you in lessons; the least he could do is let me have you after class. I feel like I haven't seen you in all week."

Ginny shrugged. "Well, that's not my fault; I rarely do anything at all in or after class, you're the one whom the old man keeps taking."

Harry shook his head. "_Dumbledore_ is just trying to help me not get killed. You don't want me killed, do you?"

"Nah," she said. "I doubt you'll be much fun if you're dead."

Harry chuckled, despite the mood that the conversation had taken. Since this relationship with Ginny had started, he had made himself promise that he wouldn't let the war ruin it. Voldemort had taken his parents and part of his childhood away, he wasn't going to let him take Ginny too. Yet, he couldn't help but wonder if he was putting her in danger, they hadn't bothered covering what was going on with them and Harry knew that, if Voldemort accessed his mind, Ginny would be like a flashing neon light, but he had forced himself to not think about that; to act like Voldemort wasn't out there, and, if Ginny was ever in danger, he would protect her with his life.

"Do you have training tonight?" she asked him, moving off his lap and sitting beside him.

He nodded. "Sirius is coming over to help me with some duelling, it was supposed to be Remus, but they're releasing Tonks in an hour and he's helping out with the transport and all that."

"Is there time to find a broom closet?" she asked hopefully. She hadn't snogged Harry properly in three days, and the last time she had been with him alone it had been behind a tapestry, in between lessons.

Unfortunately, Harry shook his head. "I'm already late; I was waiting for you to finish off with Colin so I could say goodnight. But, hey, don't frown; I've got something ready for tomorrow and I promise, tomorrow, there won't be any training sessions after lunch."

Ginny raised her eyebrows. "Do I get the pleasure of knowing what this thing you have planned is?"

Harry turned towards her and planted a soft kiss on her lips before getting up. "You'll find out tomorrow."

Ginny stood up and grabbed his hand, leading him to the portrait hole and walking out slowly. She went on her tiptoes and whispered in his ear. "You know we've become the worst love-sick teenage couple out there, right?"

Harry chuckled and ran a hand through his hair. "I don't mind in the slightest," he confessed. "Do you?"

Ginny shrugged. "I guess not... I'm just not used to it."

Harry smiled at her in a comforting manner. It wasn't new to him that Ginny didn't love the whole couple thing, but what they had was real and it was inevitable that, after two months, they would fall into a comfortable relationship. Harry also knew that, even if it was taking some time for Ginny to get used to the whole couple thing, she didn't want out, she had made that clear on various occasions.

"I'm late," he told her. "Are you going up to bed now?"

She shrugged and went on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek. "I guess so, I might write to Mum and Dad or something... I haven't since I got here, and I know you've kept them notified, but, you know, it might be nice for them. Anyway, goodnight."

He mumbled a 'goodnight' before she walked back into the common room and he started making his way to Dumbledore's office. He had to smile as he thought about Ginny; every single minute he spent with her she became more and more open, more comfortable, more loving. Two weeks ago, when they had told Ron, he had begun to get worried that maybe he was forcing her into something she didn't want, but that idea left his head as soon as she smiled at him; he wasn't stupid, he knew he didn't have a lot of time left before putting his life on the line; he wasn't about to waste it worrying with silly ideas that occurred to him when he was bored. Yet, there was one thing that he couldn't prevent himself from thinking about. Every night, before falling asleep, his mind went back to Dumbledore and the secret he was keeping from her, but he knew it was inevitable, he was a Gryffindor, and if they were known for something, it was for their braveness and their guilt trips.

"That's bullshit!" Harry thought he heard a voice shout as he walked up the headmaster's staircase.

The seventeen-year-old stopped for a second and listened out; however, the rest of the words being shared in the room were too quiet to be heard through the walls. Harry continued walking and knocked on the door.

"Come in," Dumbledore's distinguishable voice was heard from the other side of the door.

Harry, cautiously, opened the door and took a step into the magnificent room; he was surprised when he saw that the only other person in the room was his own godfather.

"Hey, Sirius," he greeted with a smile and a small wave of his left hand.

Sirius tried to smile back, but it didn't take a genius to figure out that his heart wasn't in it, the smile was soulless. "Hi, pup, you okay?"

Harry nodded. Something was definitely going on here, but he wasn't sure he wanted to know; Sirius didn't tend to get mad, it wasn't in his nature; so, whatever had happened must be big. He was used to shouting and anger by now; obviously being in a war lead to these kinds of situations far too often, but they didn't tend to hit too close to home. However, an argument between Sirius and Dumbledore could only mean that something involving him was being discussed.

"Are we training?" he asked. The tension was palpable in the air and he wanted to be out of there as soon as possible.

Sirius shared a look with Dumbledore and then nodded, leading Harry towards the door.

* * *

**"Merlin**, you get better at this every single day," Sirius told him as they both left the classroom they had been working in.

Harry chuckled. "Well that's good to know; fewer chances that I'll get killed," he spoke in a lightened tone. But, as he spoke the words, Harry saw Sirius' face fall and he knew he would be getting a reprimand in a second.

It didn't come.

"Are you okay, Sirius?" Harry asked, worry wrenched onto his face. His godfather had acted weird the whole hour that they had spent training. He didn't look like himself and he definitely was not acting like himself.

Sirius looked at him with a sad smile and put an arm around his godson. "Yeah, don't worry. I'm fine... perfect. So, anyway, how's that red-head of yours doing?"

Harry knew he was changing the subject, but he decided against pressuring him and answered the question.

"Ron? He's fantastic, really fills out his shirts now... I think I might have to start planning how to steal him from Hermione," the young man joked making a laugh escape Sirius's lips.

The older man ruffled Harry's hair. "You do know that you got that sense of humour from me, right? No offence, but before I left Azkaban, you weren't a particularly funny fellow."

Now it was Harry's turn to laugh and he did, joyfully.

"I owe you a lot, Sirius..." Harry then said, becoming serious. "You know, even if I call the Weasleys mum and dad, you _are_ the closest thing I have to a parent, you've given me everything and more."

Sirius patted his back gently. "I know, Prongs." Harry sent him a look. "_Junior_."

Harry reached the staircase that would separate his way from Sirius's, so he turned around to say goodbye.

"She's good, by the way," Harry suddenly said, causing Sirius to raise his eyebrows. "Ginny," he clarified. "You know, my redhead."

Sirius smirked. "Still as fiery as ever?"

Harry smiled fondly. "Still fiery, but she's warming up to everyone. We're actually going on our "_first date"_tomorrow, I'm gonna set up the Room of Requirement."

Sirius snorted as he rolled his eyes. "Haven't you done that for every girl you've dated? Don't you think you could take a stroll by the lake, breathe in some air?"

"You're just scared I'm gonna get her pregnant or something worse," Harry told him, knowingly.

Sirius looked down at Harry without answering, his eyes showed longing and Harry knew immediately that he was thinking about James and Lily. Sirius never _did_get over the death of his best friends, as much as Harry had begged him to, he had never settled down and begun living his life, it was as if he didn't want to live it, not without Harry's parents.

A few seconds later, Sirius snapped out of it. "You better not," he told Harry sternly. "Get her pregnant, I mean. And I wasn't talking about that, I just think that Ginny's worth more than just your typical date, right? I thought it was you who told me that she meant more to you than the rest. "

"Of course she does," Harry snapped, defensively. "I-I...We like the Room of Requirement and I'm used to it and I want it to be special so..."

Sirius nodded in understanding, but there was a glint of knowing in his eyes. "I'm not an idiot, Harry, I know you care about her a lot, but I also know that you're seventeen and something tells me that you're not getting any, so I'm warning you, don't do this to get her in bed, _do _make it special."

"Get her in bed?" Harry asked, offended. "Of course I want to sleep with Ginny, she's the most amazing person I've ever met, and she's great in every way but, who do you take me for, Sirius?"

Sirius chuckled. "I take you for my godson and your son's father. It's only natural that you'd want to sleep with your gorgeous girlfriend. I just think you should try and make it special."

"I don't need to _make _it special. The fact that I'm doing it with her will already make it special enough…Besides, you're right…there's nothing wrong with wanting to sleep with the girl I want to spend the rest of my life with."

Sirius looked at Harry's serious expression. His face was hard and his look was piercing, as if daring anyone to contradict him.

"I know it might sound a little extreme but…when the war ends," he told Sirius. "I'm going to get down on one knee and I'm going to make a complete prat of myself... and she's going to tell me I'm crazy and she's going to reject me, and I'll do it again and again, until she says yes."

Sirius's response was not what Harry had expected, he was sure he'd reprimand him for even thinking about marriage so soon.

"After the war ends?" was the question that escaped his godfather's lips, and then something more surprising. "Why not before?"

Harry looked at him hardly, as if trying to decipher what was going on with him. "Is this about your argument with Dumbledore?" he asked him, without taking his eyes of Sirius'. "Is there something I need to know?"

Sirius looked down and then put a hand on Harry's shoulder. "Enjoy tomorrow, Harry. I'll talk to you on Sunday, okay? I...Me and Dumbledore think there's something you need to know."

Harry's mouth opened. He wanted to ask what was going on, what was being hidden from him.

But Sirius pulled him into a hug and, when he pulled back, Harry didn't miss the tear that was falling down his left cheek.

* * *

**"Hey,"** Harry greeted, the following day, as he sat by Ginny in the Gryffindor table.

Ron and Hermione looked up at him for a second and then resumed an argument that they had been having previously.

Ginny looked at him with a smile. "You didn't wait for me upstairs," Harry informed her.

"I'm sorry," she apologized and then pointed at her plate. "I was hungry, bringing me to Hogwarts was the worst idea anyone's ever had, there's no way I'm still going to be thin by the time this year finishes."

Harry smiled at her and grabbed a piece of bacon.

"How was last night's lesson?" she asked him.

Harry nodded as he ate his bacon. "Good," he told her. "Sirius was a little off, but it was okay. Are you doing anything this morning?"

"Luna and I are going to take a walk around the grounds," she said. "You've got lessons with Remus and Dumbledore until after lunch, yes?"

"Yeah," he agreed. "But come meet me in the Astronomy tower at five, okay?"

"Sure, five it is."

* * *

**"Daddy** says that there are parallel worlds, you know?" Luna's dreamy voice interrupted Ginny's thoughts.

The redhead turned to her recent friend. "Yeah, I read an article in the Quibbler two months ago. It was something like... the small decisions that barely affect anyone, they only make small differences, so they don't get made into a different world, yet, the big differences create dark material and all of it created another world. I liked it; it made me think... what if I had never opened that diary?"

Ginny hadn't really told Luna about the diary, but she knew that the blonde girl had heard the official story, like every other person in Hogwarts.

"That might be looking at it in the wrong way," Luna spoke, confusing Ginny. "The question would be what would have happened if you hadn't _left_ because of the diary?"

Ginny didn't agree, but the look on Luna's face made it hard for her to think otherwise.

"Do you think Harry and I would still be together in another world?"

Ginny didn't know what had possessed her to answer the question, but something had pushed her to do it. She then realized that she had probably said it because she wanted to hear what Luna had to say about her relationship with Harry... yes, some of her dorm mates had inquired if they were together, but Ginny felt the need to talk to someone who wasn't Harry.

"I think soul mates are the same in every universe."

Ginny didn't ask anything else after that.

* * *

**The** wind seemed to be singing and Ginny couldn't help but close her eyes and feel how it ran through her hair, caressing her face, reminding her of what it was like to go on a broom. It had been so long, and yet she could remember perfectly how it had felt when she flushed the diary down the toilet, stole a school broom and soared through the air around the magical Scottish castle.

She looked at her watch and sighed. Harry was already five minutes late and that was too strange to be ignored; since the library and Dean incident, he had made sure he was always on time, if not early.

As if on cue, ragged irregular breaths were heard, accompanied by heavy and quick footsteps. Ginny rolled her eyes as an out-of-breath Harry came into view.

Ginny raised her eyebrows, questioning him.

He quickly put his palms out in front of him, calling a time out so that he could regain his breath. A few seconds later, he started talking.

"I was just finishing off the picnic," Harry told her.

"Picnic?" she asked, walking towards him.

"Well," he said, holding out his arms and grabbing her hands. "Indoor picnic, but picnic nevertheless."

Ginny laughed. "Room of Requirement, then?"

Harry shook his head. Had he really become so predictable? He was suddenly glad that he had spoken to Sirius the day before.

"Nah, my training classroom, it's on the fifth floor and completely out of use; the only ones who use it are Sirius and me. I wanted to do this right."

Ginny wondered what he had meant by that, but, as he smiled and started tugging her down the staircase, she decided to let it go.

"I just don't understand how you do it!" Harry told her once again.

They were sitting on the ground, on top of a red 'blanket', which was really Harry's bed quilt and leaning back on the front of a red sofa that Harry had transfigured a desk into. The training room was lit by various candles and a huge window it the left side of the room gave a magnificent view of the Hogwarts Lake.

"I just don't get why you want to know, it's not like you'll be able to do it," Ginny tried to reason with him, but to no avail.

Harry took a biscuit into his mouth and bit into it as he looked at her. He had supposed that, with time, he'd grow used to her being so beautiful and he guessed that, in a way, he had; however, every now and again, she would look at him with those big brown eyes and he would realize she was even more beautiful than the last time he had looked.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Gin," Harry said lightly, handing her a strawberry and letting her take a bite.

She liked her lips and laughed at Harry's comment. "It's not that I don't believe you're strong enough magically, it's just that, if you wanted to do what I do, you would have needed to start a lot earlier and you would need such a deep motivation...You just couldn't do it now, Harry, you've grown used to channelling your magic through your wand. I don't think anyone 'normal' could do it…for me, it was believing that I could surpass normal magic and working extremely hard to do it or letting myself be consumed by the memories of my first year. Then, of course, I was also told by a seer that being the 7th child in 7 generations and the only girl meant that my power was very strong but…I like to think I owe most of it to my own merits."

"Tell me how you apparate in Hogwarts," Harry suddenly asked.

Ginny rolled her eyes. "It took me time, I know I made it seem all easy, just apparating like that, but it isn't. During September, when I went up to bed, I tried to find my way through the wards. There's a spell, '_revelo tutela'_; it makes the 'protection' visible...it's like in those Muggle movies where all the red lasers protect something, the difference is that these are orange and you, technically, can't get through them. It's what Bill does for Gringotts, I bend the wards around me, it's just a lot easier to do it for one person that to actually break the wards down - I have to confess that that would probably take me a lot more."

Harry nodded in understanding. "Could you do it? Now? I'm a little curious."

She nodded and Harry got of her lap as she brought her wand out.

"It's too difficult to do it wandlessly," she answered his silent question. He nodded and she began to move her hand in a rigid circular movement. "I'll try to make it big enough for the room, I don't know how it'll turn out, I normally only do it around my bed.

"_Revelo Tutela,"_ she then whispered and suddenly the air stopped being invisible and it became orange. At first, Harry, who was left in awe, thought it looked more like a wall than lasers, but as he looked closer, he realized the 'wall' was composed of thousands of lines, some linked together and others that weren't.

"See that?" Ginny spoke, pointing her wand at a small space of air that wasn't coloured. "I might seem stupid but it's like a matter of flexibility and mental strength, I guess. I put my hand in there and then I think it's part of the wards, the wards recognise me and let me go through. After a few times of trying, they let me through easily."

Harry nodded, looking at her. "And why can't I do it, then?" he asked her, looking her in the eye.

"You could try," Ginny told him. "But I don't think you'd be able to, you don't believe you can do it, you've been taught that you can't, so they'll probably block you."

Harry shrugged and placed his hand on the space of colourless air. He tried to do as she said, as if he was part of the wards and he then tried to Apparate to the other side of the walls. He couldn't.

Harry shrugged at Ginny, who then mumbled 'Finite Incantatem' and then gave Harry a little push, making him lean back on the sofa, so that she could lay her head on his chest.

"Jealous?" she joked.

He nodded, looking genuinely displeased. However, when his eyes met hers, a smile formed on his face and he leaned down to peck her lips.

"So, you don't actually bring the wards down? How would you get out of Hogwarts?" Harry asked, putting his arms around Ginny's middle and cuddling her against him.

She bit her lip. "Promise not to get mad?" she asked.

He arched his eyebrows.

"I can't get out of Hogwarts...anti-Apparition wards are easy to pass, but the wards surrounding Hogwarts... it's like a stone wall that can't be destroyed, I used the spell on the perimeter and it'd take years, there's so many different spells on them."

"So," Harry spoke, twisting his head so he was looking at her properly, and finally understanding. "It was a lie... you never _were_going to leave Hogwarts."

Ginny shook her head. "Not exactly, if you had told him, I would've found a way. But you didn't and everything's fine, we're great and it's better this way."

For a second, Harry looked down and Ginny saw a pained expression cross his face.

Harry ran a hand through his hair before looking at her again. Feeling guilty was one of his specialties, but this was killing him, he had never lied to someone so badly and he knew this would have to end soon, but not tonight, tonight was going to be special. Truthfully, he wanted to prove to her that she truly loved him, and he wanted her to remember tonight as the night that she realized it.

"Harry, are you-" Ginny inquired, reaching to touch his face.

"I'm fine. The scar just hurts a little." He cursed himself for lying again.

Ginny frowned and leaned in, she then brushed her lips against his scar slowly, tracing the lightning bolt meticulously. The time seemed to stop and she then carefully looked down at his eyes, which were filled with awe and she could tell that no one had ever kissed his scar, never. She raised her legs and put them underneath her as she looked at him with worry.

Harry looked at her and once again felt warmth invade his chest. This was the reason why he knew he would never want anyone else again; Ginny made him feel so many things at once that she confused him in a way no one had ever been able to. He wanted everything with her and he knew that, deep inside, she wanted the same.

He then surprised her as he put two hands on her cheeks and brought her lips towards his, meeting in a passionate kiss.

The only thing Ginny could think about was how hungry his lips seemed. His tongue reached every space in her mouth, trying to savour all he could get. She ran her hands along his back and they both moved in a synchronised motion so that she had her legs wrapped around him and he had his arms around her, pressing her to him.

Harry reached for the side of her shirt and pushed it down as he trailed a line of kisses down her left shoulder, and up again, biting gently down on her neck and causing her to moan slightly.

Ginny let herself go as she caressed his back, pulling his t-shirt upwards; finally, he realized what she was trying and pulled it off himself, throwing it onto the floor and displaying the perfectly toned muscles that he had gained from the latest training sessions.

Without thinking, she lay down on top of him and continued kissing his lips passionately as her hands wandered on his chest, feeling the different scars and admiring how hard it truly was. She felt hypnotised, like she was floating in the middle of somewhere. It was like she didn't know what she was doing; her body was acting on its own accord for the first time.

A second later, she came out of her trance.

Somehow she was underneath Harry and her shirt was unbuttoned and soon to be coming off by the look of it. She went a little rigid, but Harry continued kissing her neck as he supported his weight on his left arm.

"H-Harry," she managed to mumble, trying to get him off her. "Harry, stop."

However, Harry wasn't exactly listening.

"Harry!" she shouted at him, pushing against him chest and sitting up, moving to the furthest side of the sofa.

Harry then looked up and, to Ginny's surprise, he didn't apologize.

"What?"

His tone was hard, almost angry and he spat the word at her like she had just hurt him in some way. Yet, he didn't wait for her to answer, he grabbed his t-shirt and started putting it on without looking at her.

Ginny went wide-eyed as he stood up and grabbed his shoes, putting them on with a scowl resting on his face.

"You're angry," Ginny said, surprise. It wasn't a question, it was a statement. "Are you-Are you seriously telling me that you're angry that..?."

Ginny went silent as Harry continued to look away. She took a few steps and walked towards him, her hand at the ready. "You better start explaining yourself right now because I'm about to stun you and check if you're the real Harry Potter, because I'm pretty sure the real Harry wouldn't..."

"Wouldn't what?" Harry finally spoke, looking up at her.

"Wouldn't do anything against my will," she told him harshly. The atmosphere had suddenly become serious and tense, so much that a voice was making its way inside Ginny Weasley's head.

Harry shook his head. "It seems you haven't noticed that I _haven't_done anything against your will."

He didn't know what was wrong with him. Of course he was being irrational and of course he would never force himself on anyone, let alone Ginny... but he couldn't understand it, he just didn't get how she couldn't want it as much as he did; it wasn't the first time she'd blown him off and he was getting desperate to know why. He didn't want to push her, but it was driving him insane.

"Yes, but you're angry at me! You seemed to understand that I didn't want to... I've made it pretty clear so, why this? We were talking perfectly a second ago…Why now?" Ginny asked, confused.

"Because I'm human," Harry spat at her before being able to stop himself.

Ginny looked at him for a second and then turned around, fixed her shirt and started moving towards the door.

"No, Gin, wait," Harry's voice pierced the silence of the room. He made his way towards her and put his arms around her, trying to get her to embrace him. She pulled back and looked at him.

"Explain yourself. Now!" she ordered.

Harry sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I-I'm sorry, I'm-I'm a total arse...I...I..."

"Preferably before I'm fifty-six, Harry."

Harry sighed and moved to the sofa, he offered her a seat next to him, but she shook her head.

"Fine, I...It's driving me crazy, Gin. I just don't understand how in Merlin's name you cannot want to sleep with me," he told her truthfully.

She raised her eyebrows. "Wow, where did your shy modesty go, Potter?"

Harry winced at the use of his surname on her lips, it was cold and hard, like he meant nothing to her. "I-I'm...You know I don't mean it that way, I'm just saying that I want you and I know you want me and I love you and, is it such a crime to just want to share this with you?"

Ginny sighed. "I'm not ready, Harry," she told him, taking a step forwards and sitting down beside him.

"You were ready before, weren't you? We've never talked about it but we all know you had your share of fun in Europe." Harry spat at her, with harshness.

She looked at him with disbelief and, once again, stood up. "Is that what this whole show is about? You're angry that I'm not a virgin? "

Harry also stood up. "Angry, jealous, scarred, furious...yeah, I don't like it one bit that there's guys who have been with you before me, but that's all right, because it was before we had anything and I can deal with that. What I don't know how to deal with is you _wanting_to sleep with other guys and not even thinking about sleeping with me."

"Oh, so that's what you want, is it?" Ginny asked angrily. "You want me to seduce you, shag you and, when we're done, grab my things and walk out the door so I can find someone else to shag..." Ginny spoke with sarcasm in her tone. She saw Harry was about to say something but she interrupted him. "And, why not, maybe you also want me to do it solely because there's this bastard who doesn't leave my head unless I'm lusting over someone, unless I'm imagining that you're someone I love, unless I don't know anything about you so I can fake that you're the hero from a cheap chick movie."

"Ginny, come on..." Harry tried, but he shut up when he realized that tears were forming in Ginny's eyes.

"You know what, Harry? Maybe you want to be a stranger who I use so I can lie to myself and make myself believe that sex is something normal, something that you can do with thousands of people without it mattering; maybe you want to be a nameless guy who I use so I can forget what that fucking son of bitch did to me!"

Harry went rigid at her last words, he looked at her tear stained face and the words she'd just spoken reached their true meaning. He knew that there must've been a good reason for her attitude but he just hadn't that Voldemort's sixteen-yer-old self had actually ever touched her.

She gulped slightly as she saw the look of hatred that crossed his eyes and, luckily, she knew it wasn't directed to her. His breaths became deeper, and when he looked her in the eye again, he gritted his teeth and put his arms around her.

"I'm going to kill him," he told her, his words harsh. "I'm going to rid the world of him and he won't hurt anyone ever again. He's going to pay; he's going to pay for daring to kill my parents and for even allowing himself the thought of putting his disgusting hands on you."

Ginny looked up and Harry wiped her tears away with his thumb. "He doesn't even know what he did to me, Harry, it was only a memory, and memories can only do so much... I'm not defending him, you know I want him dead as much as you do; but I don't want this to be about revenge, Harry; you're everything to me, and you're worth too much to kill someone because of revenge. If you kill him, it will be so he can't hurt anyone else, not because of something he did. Okay?"

"I'm sorry; I've been such an Idiot... I should've known better," he apologized as he hugged her tightly.

Ginny shook her head. "No, you only should've known better than to get involved with someone as troubled as me, that's all. Don't tell me it's not true. I know you would rather me that any other perfect girl, but it's the truth. Either way, it's not your fault; the only thing you've done is make what used to be a living hell into a life worth living. I'm sorry I can't give you what you want, specially because I want it too; but when we sleep together I want to know everything about you, I want it to be real... I want it to be completely different to all the other times, what I had with some faceless guys was sex; what I want to have with you is love; they might be linked together, but they're completely different concepts. Harry, I still don't even know if you're a virgin; we've been avoiding this subject forever."

Harry sighed and nodded, he knew she was right, everything she was saying made perfect sense, when he made love to her he wanted it to be sincere and truthful. Right now, their relationship was timid and dishonest; before he did anything like that, he needed to come clean and so did she, they needed to let everything out; they needed to know each other better that they did now.

"I'm not," Harry admitted, looking into her eyes and holding her hands in his, "a virgin," he clarified.

"Susan?" she asked knowingly.

He nodded. "It was after I found out about the Horcruxes, I was angry that it couldn't all be easy and she was there...I had just turned sixteen, she was a great girl. I regretted it after; I realized that I did it knowing that there was no future for us, and that it's not something to play with. You okay?"

Ginny chuckled half-heartedly. "Yeah, just a bit jealous, I guess, and angry at myself, if I hadn't left for Beauxbatons, I might have had you a lot earlier, maybe we could've been out firsts and we could've had this epic romance story to tell."

Harry leaned down and kissed her. "We're epic, even if it's a troubled story; it doesn't make it less epic." He stopped talking and admired her, knowing she was truly his. "You do know that you're in love with me, don't you?"

It was a risky move, he knew it, but he had to try.

She looked up at him.

"I know I can't live without you, is that enough?"

Harry pressed his lips against her forehead and leaned down to whisper in her ear.

"That's more than I could ask for."


	16. Interlude

**Interlude. (*UPDATED)**

* * *

The room was dark.

The two small shattered windows were the only source of moonlight that illuminated it.

It was so dark that you could only see once your eyes had grown used to the black veil that seemed to surround the room, and even then you could only make out the faint outline of white masks that seemed to float around the room.

The only other thing you could make out were two tiny snakelike eyes, which seemed to be on everyone and no one at the same time. The eyes weren't just intimidating, they were soulless; those eyes had seen death, but they had seen no remorse; those eyes weren't human.

"Malfoy!"

The voice was cold and nasal, it seemed like it struggled to get out, like it had no vocal chords to come from.

Two torches lit up as two men were heard taking a step forward.

The two eyes, now seen on a face that wasn't really a face, eyed the two men for a second. Somehow, a dark wand suddenly flew into his hand and he directed it at the older man as his eyes stared at the mask that covered the younger one's face.

"Crucio," the voice spoke with venom.

The older man's mask fell of him as he kneeled on the floor, suffering silently.

"That will teach you to realize who I am asking for."

Draco Malfoy didn't dare look at his father, or even think more than he should, he knew his thoughts weren't safe. However, he also knew he had no idea what he was doing here, he was a coward and he feared death and suffering; he didn't belong with Voldemort, he belonged far away, where this war couldn't find him.

Voldemort turned his wand on him.

"Harry Potter?" he hissed at the young man. Draco did not need to hear the whole sentence to know what he was asking for.

"I don't know much, My Lord," the blonde youth spoke carefully, keeping his head in a bow, his eyes staring down at the ground. "The blood traitor Dumbledore is making it very difficult for me to contact my information sources at Hogwarts."

Draco stopped for a second as he saw the pale skeletical hand move, the wand in it ready to strike.

"I also know that he is receiving private lessons, My Lord," Draco spoke before the same pain his father had just gone through could be inflicted on him.

Voldemort received the news carefully. "Speak," he spat at the young man.

"They tell me that he is seen entering Dumbledore's office a lot and he is normally alone, or with the mudblood Granger and the blood traitor Weasley. Training, they suspect."

Voldemort let his face fall slightly, in disinterest; he hadn't been impressed by the news.

"I also know," Draco continued, his eyes still stuck on the ground. "That, according to Pansy Parkinson, he is seeing someone."

"Draco..." Voldemort spoke icily. "What would suggest that l could hold any interest in Harry Potter's conquests?"

Draco gulped, he could stop talking and take his punishment now or continue talking and take the risk of getting a worst punishment later, being the coward he was, he chose to have it later.

"Well, my lord, if you permit my suggestion to be spoken...this girl isn't just any girl; she's a Weasley, the one that was missing."

Voldemort looked at the youngest Death Eater hardly, and he then raised his wand at him.

"Legilimens!" he hissed as he entered the young blonde's mind.

An image of a small girl with red hair came to view; however, he could hear Draco's thoughts, the girl had changed, and she had been taken out of Hogwarts after an incident he hadn't been informed of.

Voldemort broke the connection and screamed, his wand directed at the older Malfoy as he stood up and walked towards him.

"The diary," he spoke harshly. "Where is it?"

Lucius tried to think quickly. "At the bottom of the Chamber of Secrets, as far as I know, My Lord."

"Am I to believe," Voldemort then spoke. "That you put it there, Lucius."

The man breathed in. "No, my lord, I...I put it in between Weasley's books... she was possessed and she opened the chamber."

"And then, please tell me, how it is that I don't know about it? And how is it possible for this girl to belive? Memory or not, I'm sure I would have tried to kill her, right, Lucius?"

The atmosphere was tense and Draco saw his father was losing this fight, from the corner of his eye, the son could see how the father squirmed under the look of the dark lord.

"Harry Potter saved her, My Lord. He also destroyed the diary, I do not know if completely or not, but I do know he managed to save the girl," Lucius told his master.

Voldemort raised his wand.

"Legilimens!" he spoke again, entering Lucius's mind and seeing that the truth was what he had just been told.

He raised his wand again but he was interrupted by Draco's voice.

"My Lord," he said. "It is also known that she left Hogwarts for herself after the incident, she was not expelled, but she asked to be transferred to Beauxbatons...she seems to be different to the other Weasleys, and my sources think she could be a weapon against Harry Potter."

He-who-must-not-be-named turned his neck slowly to look at the blonde, whose face was covered by the customary white mask, the only people who did not wear it were Bellatrix Lestrange and Wormtail.

"Take your mask off, Draco," Voldemort spoke, walking towards him slowly. "You are a coward, so much that you don't even believe in power, in its intensity. But you fear death, you fear pain and you will do anything to keep yourself away from them. Bring me the Weasley girl."

Draco gulped. "My Lord, the Death Eaters working on the wards haven't even begun to bring them down, it will be impossible."

Voldemort raised his wand.

"Crucio," Draco winced and closed his eyes tightly until he realized that the scream that had just been heard wasn't his own. Beside him, the father of Gregory Goyle was on the floor, screaming in pain and squirming under the wrath of the unforgivable.

"You will make it possible unless you want to find yourself in this position. Now, once again, bring me the Weasley girl, Draco."

Draco breathed in and took his mask of as he bowed.

"Yes, My Lord, I will bring you the Weasley girl."


	17. Chapter 14:Missing

_A/N: You might be a little confused at the beginning so try to keep concentrated, it's not that you missed something, it's just that a scene that causes the reaction isn't featured in the chapter...if any of you feel that you really aren't getting it, just PM me and I will explain, once I explain everything will be a lot clearer. The Q&A section from the interlude is already up in my forum, check it out. :) Hope you enjoy!_

**Chapter 14**

**Missing**

* * *

_"Now I'm all alone, now you're gone for good, now I'm stuck right here wishing I understood..." _**Darren Criss - A very Potter Musical**

* * *

"No," Harry whispered as he sank into the chair, dizziness becoming overwhelming.

Sirius looked at the Headmaster for a second and then put an arm on his godson's shoulder. Harry shook it off and looked up at him.

"No!" he shouted, standing up again and taking a step away from the two men.

* * *

"Ron, have you seen Harry?"

Ron Weasley looked up at his sister, she looked worried.

"Not since breakfast, he said he had training," Ron answered.

"No, it was supposed to be finished by now; he's not in his training room," Ginny told the older boy.

Ron shrugged, ready to get up and help her in her search. Hermione, who was reading a book, looked up.

"Try Dumbledore's, he's probably there," she suggested.

Ginny nodded. "Thanks."

However, before she could leave, Hermione spoke up. "Is anything wrong?"

Ginny turned around and shrugged but she still looked worried. "He's just never this late, Hermione."

* * *

"This was why you were weird the other day!" Harry accused Sirius. "You knew and you didn't tell me!"

"Harry, please..." Dumbledore's voice echoed.

Harry glared at the old man. "Be quiet! You... how long have you known this? How long have you been using me as a weapon, forgetting I'm human?"

Sirius put his hand on Harry's shoulder, not letting him push it away this time. The young man's emerald eyes sought Sirius's grey ones.

Sirius looked at him for a second, forcing him to calm down.

"I know," he finally said as a tear fell down his face. "I know, Harry, I know."

Sirius pushed Harry into his arms and wrapped them around his godson tightly as he broke down onto his shoulders. It was strange hugging him like this, he hadn't done it since they'd first met and the true reality of the situation hit him like a bludger, Harry wasn't that scrawny thirteen-year-old anymore, he was a grown man, taller than him now, and he had a life, he had as many feelings as any other person and he had fought so much for a future, he had gone through hell and back for a future and now... now it turned out he didn't have one.

* * *

Ginny ran through the halls of Hogwarts, she could feel her heart beating fast and a strange emotion had taken hold of her chest. Something was wrong, she could feel it; she could feel her magic trying to surpass the limits put by her body and reach out for something. She needed to find Harry; that was the only thing she knew.

* * *

Sirius pushed back and put his hands on Harry's face so that his eyes were looking straight into his. "I love you," he told him sincerely. "You know I love you and I know this is the worst thing that could happen, but we can't stop now."

Tears started falling down Sirius's eyes as he continued speaking.

"You're going to die a hero, Harry, ok? And you're going to enjoy every minute of life you have left and... And you're going to use this month, you're going to do everything you've ever wanted to do, you hear me? And then you're going to meet up with James and Lily and you'll be with them again and you'll be happy."

Harry closed his eyes and pushed Sirius away; before him or Dumbledore could say anything, he reached out for the door and made his way down the stone staircase.

* * *

"Harry!" Ginny called out as she ran up the moving staircase.

"Harry!"

* * *

Harry reached the bottom of the staircase. He pushed his head back, trying to breathe, trying to stop drowning, to feel like he was still alive.

Sobs began to make their way through him and he fell against the wall, his head in his hands.

He fell to the floor as he cried, cried for everything he would miss, cried for the kids he wouldn't have, cried for how much he would miss Ron, Hermione...Ginny.

As the thought entered his mind, he knew he had to tell her everything, he had to tell her what he would have to do in just over a month and what he had done and, when she had reacted to that and he had made sure she wouldn't leave, he would talk about the bond; he would tell her everything, he would give her everything, he would love her completely until he couldn't do it anymore.

* * *

"God, Harry..." Ginny whispered more to herself as she found Harry crying like a small scared boy.

She ran towards him, and his emerald eyes looked up at her scared, begging her to save him, to protect him from whatever could harm him.

Ginny kneeled down on the floor and put her arms around him awkwardly. He put his head against her chest and tears continued falling down his eyes.

"I love you," he mumbled against her shoulder. "I love you so much."

Ginny felt herself gulp several times, trying to get rid of the feeling that was invading her body; whatever had happened was bad, really bad.

She hushed him as she ran her hands through his hair. "I know, I know... don't worry, I'm here."

Harry sobbed into her shoulder and she tightened her hold on him.

"What's wrong, Harry?" she asked him. "What happened?"

Harry sobbed again. "Not here," he told her.

Ginny bit her lip, knowing he was in no condition to walk somewhere else. She closed her eyes and felt him next to her and she tried to make a connection, tried to cover his magic with her own, linking both of them together... when she started to try, she realized something that left her stunned, they were already linked.

Recuperating from the surprise, she held onto him tightly and apparated.

* * *

"This is your fault!" Sirius shouted at Dumbledore. "You should have told him years ago."

Dumbledore shook his head as he sat down calmly. "Sirius, that is no way to live, even less for a child..."

"And this is right?" he asked with incredulity. "That man has feelings, Albus... Harry loves people, Harry was fighting for a future, Harry is a human being and you used him!"

"You suppose that I don't know this," Dumbledore spoke, as calmly as before. "You think that I haven't looked at that boy and thought that he would never be able to get married, have children; that he would die before he got a chance to see the world."

"You're too calm," Sirius told him with resentment. "How the hell can you be calm after seeing a kid you've treated like a grandson break down in front of you, realize that he's going to leave this world!"

Dumbledore looked down at the ground. "Death is nothing but the next biggest adventure, and I'm not worried about Harry, he will be happy wherever he is because he has people who love him in both sides; I'm worried about you, about his family, I'm worried about what will happen when Harry appears dead and Voldemort is alive and mocking everyone, I'm scared that he will die in vain... I pity Harry right now, in the best sense of the word, because he has to live with this... luckily it won't be for long."

"You're no better than him, no better than Voldemort," Sirius spat out. "You might want to get rid of him, but you would do anything for him to be gone. Your believing in the greater good makes you blind. Harry means something in this war, and if he's dead I don't see this coming out the way you want it to."

* * *

"You're wrong."

Those were the only words Ginny could think of when Harry stopped speaking. That was impossible, Harry was not going to die... Harry didn't _have _to, he didn't _have _to put himself in front of that green light; Harry didn't _have _to do anything.

"No, I... it makes sense, Gin; the connection, me being a parselmouth, I should've realized sooner..."

"No," Ginny spoke clearly and without hesitation. "We'll go away."

Harry raised his eyebrows at her. But she ignored him.

"We'll get out of Hogwarts and go to the States, he won't find you there...we...I just need to work on the wards a little and we'll be able to leave, it'll be just you and me, he won't..."

Harry looked at her mumbling incoherent things to herself as she walked around the room. She wasn't thinking, he could tell that, she was in shock.

He stood up and put his hands on her arms, steadying her.

"I can't do that," he told her. "And you can't do it either... Gin, it's me or the rest of the world..."

"Well, let it be the rest of the world! Damn it! I've gone through hell without you, they can't take you away now; they won't take you away now!" she shouted.

Harry breathed in, making sure he wouldn't lose it too. He was calm now and the tears he had shed had already dried. He was angry and upset but, he _had_ been fighting for this...he had fighting for the lives of others, the only difference was that he wouldn't be there to see them. He didn't want to leave, Ginny...he dreaded of even thinking about it but he could free this world from him and let her be happy.

"This is my fault," he told her as he hugged her body to his. "I should've never gotten involved with you."

"Don't say that!" she told him, pushing him away. "You're the best thing that's ever happened to me. If it wasn't for you I wouldn't be here; I'd be in Spain or Italy, throwing my life away. I just... I thought this was going to be it; I thought we would both survive and it would be great, now we're going to die and who knows what it's going to be like in..."

"We?" Harry asked, interrupted, shaking his head. "No. Gin, I'm going to give myself up to save you, not so you can get killed; you're going to be safe and...I don't want to talk about this, I need to...I need to tell you something."

"What?" she asked.

"You...you have to promise me you won't run away; you'll stay and we'll talk about it, you won't do anything rash, promise me..." he begged.

Ginny looked at him and felt herself grow worried, he was feeling guilty and she didn't think it was for something stupid this time.

"You know I can't do that," she told him. "I don't want to break any promises."

Harry took a few steps back and wondered if this was the best place to do this, they were behind the Gryffindor tower shortcut tapestry and he knew most people took it one time or another; however, he also knew people were out on the grounds or already at the Great Hall. He decided to get it over with.

"I just... you need to understand I'm telling you this because I love you and because I want to live in a month what we could have in years... I want everything out in the open, I want you and me to know everything, okay?"

"What is it, Harry? You're scaring me now," she told him, harshly.

Harry closed his eyes. "I lied," he muttered. "I lied to you; I've been lying to you."

Ginny felt her breathing become a little forced. "What do you mean?"

"I..." he spoke. "I need to know you're not going to run away."

Ginny's eyes went wide. "If you don't start taking, then I am going to run away now! Tell me, whatever it is, tell me..."

Harry took a step forwards and tried to take her hands but she pushed him away. "Now, Harry..."

She looked upset, worried, like she could tell that whatever it was, it was going to hurt her.

"A month ago... when you had the dream, you told me to act on instinct and I thought it was for the best, I..."

* * *

"Remus, please," Tonks begged. "I'm okay, I'll be fine; you don't have to treat me like I'm an invalid. I'm begging you... look me in the eye and realize that I can walk alone and I can be alone."

Remus chuckled at himself. "I just... I want you to be perfect; I want everything to be all right. Maybe you should move into my chamber, I'll be able to protect you there."

Tonks raised her eyebrows at him.

"Ok, maybe not the best choice of words," Remus admitted. "But, either way, this chamber is small and your arm isn't completely healed yet. You really shouldn't be alone right now... what if you morphed by accident when you were sleeping, you'd break the bone again and you'd have no one to heal it."

"You know, Remus, if you want me in your bed, you don't need any excuse, I can perfectly take..."

Tonks's words and Remus's blushing were interrupted by an angry shout proceeding from some corridor nearby.

"You lied!" the strong female voice shouted, followed by the sound of spells being casted. Remus and Tonks looked at each other, recognising the voice.

"You told me to follow my instinct! I couldn't let you leave!"

_Yes_, Tonks though, _that's Harry and Ginny all right._

Remus, wand in hand, followed the sounds and realized they were behind the tapestry that hid the Tower's shortcut. Slowly, he entered.

Harry was a few metres above the ground, with his back against the corridor wall. Ginny was looking at him, tears in her eyes.

Neither one of them seemed to realize they had company.

"You don't get it, do you? You fucking lied, Harry! I trusted you, you were the only bloody person I could trust and you went and told him behind my back! You destroyed all of this, you lied! You lied!"

She said it again and again, like she was trying to make herself believe it.

"I couldn't let you leave, I was going to tell you, I swear...but I saw that look in your eyes and I knew you were going to leave and I couldn't let you, you're everything, Gin, I couldn't...I can't do this without you."

"And you lied to me? What were you expecting me to do when you told me this, Harry? What the hell did you think I was going to do?" Ginny shouted at him.

Remus thought that maybe he should make their presence known, but Harry spoke up before he was given the opportunity.

"We can sit down and talk about it, you can swear and throw things at me and I'll admit I was wrong, but please, we need to talk..."

Tonks looked at Remus and they shared a non-verbal thought.

"Guys," they spoke at the same time, causing Harry and Ginny to turn to look at them and come back to reality for a second.

"We heard shouting," Tonks clarified. She looked form Harry to Ginny. "Are you two okay?"

Ginny gulped and looked up at Harry.

"Don't leave because you're mad at me, please... just let me talk to you and then you can be as mad at me as you like," Harry told her sincerely.

Ginny looked down at the ground and then raised her hand and brought Harry down to the ground. Both of them seemed to had forgotten Remus and Tonks once again.

"I'm not angry at you, Harry," Ginny spoke angrily. "Well, yes...of course I'm angry at you, but I'm mostly angry at me...I should have seen it coming, I knew something like this was going to happen and I let myself fall anyway; I trusted you and that's why I'm leaving ...because I'm angry at myself."

Ginny started to turn around, but not before seeing Harry reach for his wand. With a movement of her finger, the wand had flown to the other side of the corridor. Remus and Tonks were looking at her with shock and surprise, as well as confusion.

"Don't be stupid, Harry," Ginny muttered before turning around again.

Harry shook his head. "I'm not letting you leave."

Ginny sighed. "You know you can't do anything about it."

She saw that he was going to reach for her so she breathed in and raised her palm, small figments of red light starting coming out of her fingers and before Harry could do anything about it, a flash of light stung him in the chest.

Ginny looked up and found the two adults looking at her strangely. "He'll take a while to wake up, even with the counter-jinx so... tell him I've only gone for a walk, I'll be back when I've calmed down... I-I... well, he'll explain what you've just seen when he wakes up... tell him it's okay to tell you, I don't mind."

The two adults continued looking at her as she closed her eyes and spun around on the spot, disappearing a few seconds later.

"She can't do that!" Tonks exclaimed. "She can't –It's..."

Remus shook his head as he leaned down to look at Harry.

"Rennervate," the professor mumbled, directing his wand at Harry's chest.

The young man only stirred slightly.

Lupin looked up at Tonks with worried look.

"We need to go to Dumbledore."

* * *

Ginny was struggling on what to do. She had thought that leaving the castle would be enough; she could walk around the grounds and think while she calmed down, she felt stuck. How could he have lied to her? He had looked her in the eye and lied... Harry, her Harry, the brave and noble Harry who swore that he loved her. She needed to get it out of her; she needed to feel that she had free will, that she could leave and return when she wanted to.

She Apparated to the point beyond the Quiddich pitch, just outside of the forest, where the hardest wards were placed. She knew she could walk through them, but that wouldn't get her anywhere, Hogsmeade was also protected; she wouldn't be able to apparate out of there, but she could go there and that was all she really needed; she needed to go into a bar and just feel like she wasn't being monitored for once.

She Apparated back into the castle and passed in front of the hidden Room of Requirement three times before she was let in and a tunnel appeared at the end of the room; it was so easy that she almost laughed, if she wanted, she could get a boat and once she was out of the limits she could go anywhere, she could do anything.

She walked down the dimly lit passage as her optimistic thoughts faded and her mind went back to Harry. A voice inside her head was telling her that she hadn't come clean absolutely either... she hadn't told him every single thing, she had missed out the most horrible parts of Riddle in her head; she had made him understand what had happened, but she hadn't been generous with the details.

She couldn't help but smile as she appeared in the Leaky Cauldron. There weren't many people there, but enough to not make her appearance relevant; she walked out of the bar slowly, without making her presence known.

Ginny breathed in the October chilly air that hit her face and she smiled again, she could feel it now, she could feel the restraints around her loosening, she could breathe again.

"Thanks Merlin," she heard a cold voice behind her mutter. By the time she had turned around, whoever had said it was on the floor, with their walking stick a few metres in front of them.

"Are you okay?" she asked politely as she looked at the hooded figure, the only thing she could see was his old, worn hand sticking out from under the cloak.

The man, she supposed, didn't say a thing, he simply signalled at the stick.

Ginny was cautious as she approached it, she could feel the magic in it, the magic of a portkey. She tried to step back, but she put her hands in front of her for protection, and before she could realize what her own magic was doing, it took control and the stick flew into her hands, making her feel the familiar tug at her navel.

* * *

_A/N: Shorter than ever, I know but I'm thinking the next few chapters are going to have to be like that. Sorry :( . Please remember to** review** and tell me what you thought, okay? You know how much it means to me._


	18. Chapter 15:Rescue

**_A/N: Hey guys, I'm awfully sorry about the delay. The first 5 or 6 pages of the chapter were done ages ago but I got stuck on the end and then life came in the way. So...enjoy this._**

* * *

**A/N: 200 REVIEWS! You guys did it and I really can't believe it. I know some stories have like 1000 by the time they reach the 10****th**** chapter, but this is a real piece of amateur writing and I never expected to really get over a 100, let alone 200...so that you to every single one of you who always reviews...like Rosapose, benperez31, goldnjen, Phx. Tears...and all the rest of you...you're more that amazing. Also a special thanks to 'fireburnshot'...who read this story all in one day and reviewed 6 times...and pretty good reviews too...not many people would even bother to review once so, thank you, so much.**

**Now, to other serious matters. I need to do address three things about this story. First comes something that came out last chapter and I need to clear up because I think it wasn't completely clear.**

"_What Dumbledore told Sirius in chapter 13 and Harry in chapter 14...was the same thing that Harry saw him telling Snape in the memory in the canon Deathly Hallows... so, some of you seemed to suppose that now he had to die... but it's exactly the same as in canon...he will be hit by the curse but will then be given the choice to come back, just like in canon."_

**Now, onto second...I was really disappointed with myself when a reviewer realized a great error in this story. It was so simple and yet, after all the planning, I didn't see it. The error was this...if Wormtail was in Azkaban before the third task, who revived Voldemort?**

**Well, I'm not going to lie...I had not even thought of that, but I did come up with an answer, it's lame and insufficient, but it's the best I can get.**

"_Wormtail was sent to Azkaban, which lead to him seeing Bellatrix Lestrange again and he told her about the plan to revive the Dark Lord. Pushed by her devotion to Voldemort, and due to the fact that she was so crazy that the dementor's couldn't even hurt her...she managed to escape and she was the one who revived him, in exactly the same way as in canon...save Cedric's death, of course, and the way Harry got back to Hogwarts (Dumbledore's help, by the way). This also meant that the Ministry never called Harry a liar, but they didn't print anything about Voldemort's return...as you can imagine, given that there was no death, there was no speculation, and even though Dumbledore tried to make the Ministry see he had come back, he was shushed and he decided it was better to let them see for themselves when the time was right."_

**Finally. I thought it might be a good idea to do a little brief review of everything that's happened in the story so far. For those who are a little confused. **

"_Ginny left Hogwarts after the chamber incident, which led her to be at odds with her family and do things she was later not proud of. She did these things because the memory's of the diary haunted her in the form of Tom Riddle's voice, continuously in her head unless her heart and mind were truly concentrated on something else, this is also the reason why she was able to expand her powers and become a very powerful witch. Before Harry's last year in Hogwarts, Mrs. Weasley discovers she had been lying about her whereabouts and Mr. Weasley finds her. At the beginning she makes it clear she does not want to be in The Burrow, but a simple conversation with Harry makes her lighten it down, soon enough Harry falls for her and she starts changing back to the sweet girl she was before the chamber. Her and Harry actually enter a complicated relationship that they take to Hogwarts, where it is complicated even more when Harry and Ginny share a Voldemort nightmare of Tonks being attacked. Ginny tells Harry she will leave if he tells Dumbledore about the shared vision, but Harry does anyway and then lies to Ginny about it. Then, a few weeks later, Harry discovers that he is a Horcrux and will have to die if he wants Voldemort to die...and when he realizes he only has about a month left with Ginny, he decides to come clean...to do, in that month, as much as he wanted to do in a lifetime (with some obvious exception). Ginny, obviously, takes it badly and leaves, but knowing she'll be back soon enough, a few hours maximum... however, when she walks out of The Leaky Cauldron...a hooded old man drops his stick, and as she hesitantly reaches out for it, her wandless magic makes it fly to her hand and it is discovered that it is a portkey."_

* * *

**Chapter 15 - Part 1**

**Rescue

* * *

**

_"I never made a daring rescue, which is the story people want to hear. I did go to my share of fires_." **Steve Buscemi

* * *

**

A small, quiet noise came out of Ginny's parted lips as she slowly regained consciousness.

An overwhelming feeling of worry and fear went through her as her eyes tried to open, but something didn't allow them to, _that_ was what brought back the memories and made her try to get up from the hard and filthy floor she was laying on.

It had been a Brenan Portkey.

Memories of her reading days came back to Ginny and she remembered her portkey researches, her nights in the Beauxbatons library, where no one would ever notice she spent the 'sleeping' time doing all kinds of magic. Marcus Brenan had created a strong portkey about two hundred years back; the portkey didn't have to be touched, it flew to the closest wizard to see it, it used the wizard's magic against it, and, what was worst, that simple action normally drained enough magic for a wizard to be down for hours.

Ginny's first instinct was to lift the petrifying spell that had obviously been placed on her; however she thought better; if this was Voldemort, which she strongly supposed it was, then she needed to keep her powers hidden; if he didn't know about them, she'd be able to escape easily; if he did, she didn't think it would be so simple.

Yet, she did the most obvious thing, she tried to Apparate, slowly, picturing her straight, petrified body in the middle of Muggle London, where there would be no wards to make it harder. Still, she immediately felt that this place was almost as well protected as Hogwarts, anti-Apparition charms included.

She let herself calm down and her brain started working, trying to evaluate all the options before she got the hell out of there.

* * *

"Are you crazy?" Harry's voice boomed across Grimmauld's place, causing the other visitors to take a step back. "It's been nearly two hours, we're not going to be calm and take it slow. She could be anywhere!"

"Harry," Remus tried. "We've already told you, she said that you shouldn't worry, that she was just going to take a walk and..."

"And she's not in Hogwarts," Harry finished the sentence, lifting the Marauder's map, which had been in Dumbledore's possession up until an hour ago. "If Voldemort finds out she's alone and available to catch... she'll be captured before she can do anything about it. She knows it, and I know it, and I wouldn't be so concerned if I didn't know that she's not in her right state of mind right now. We need to do a lost and found charm or anything...I, I know she's not the easiest to find, but this is my fault and this time it's true... so please, we need to do something."

"Harry, listen," Hermione tried to reason with him. "Remus is probably right, she's probably in some bar, she's most probably safe, and how would Voldemort know she's unprotected? Give it a night, Harry, you know Ginny... I... none of us know what happened, and I'm not asking you to tell us, but if you really have done something to hurt her, maybe the last thing she want is for this to be happening in her absence."

Harry sighed and looked at Molly and Arthur, who were standing behind him. "Do you agree? You think we should wait and see if Voldemort catches her, and find out if her body appears in the morning?"

Molly gulped at the words and Arthur winced, trying to breathe in but finding it was a difficult task.

"Son, I...to find some _invenit plantum _in October, it'd take us hours to just find some..." Mr. Weasley tried.

"That's rubbish, I... Arthur..." Harry started.

The older man stopped him, however. "It's still, Dad, Harry... it has been for a long time and nothing is going to change that."

Harry nodded, knowing he was right, but, did he even have the right to call him dad, after what he had done to his daughter.

"Dad, the Ministry has plenty of the plant, and so have Hogwarts and Gringotts, and a lot more places; so, we just need to get some and get professor McGonagall to do the charm... we'll find her and we'll bring her home and she'll be all right.," Harry explained.

Arthur looked sadly at Harry, but didn't speak, instead, Mad-eye did. "Boy, there are a lot more valuable people disappearing, that plant isn't to be used on your little girlfriend, Potter."

Harry's wand was raised faster than anyone could foresee, anyone except for Mad-eye, who lifted his wand at the same time... the two disarming spells were muttered at the same time and the separate flashes of scarlet light met in the middle, creating a small explosion that was heard throughout the house.

"What do you think you're doing, Potter?" Mad-eye shouted at the seventeen-year-old.

However, before Harry could shout back, Dumbledore interrupted them.

"Alastor," the old man said calmly, "Harry... please stop. Alastor is right, Harry, Miss Weasley hasn't been taken as far as we know, and, if she is, and Severus will bring us that information."

"Will he?" Harry spoke icily at the headmaster.

Ron was taken back at the tone.

"And when he does, will you tell me?" Harry's cold tone continued accusing Dumbledore.

Sirius took a step forward. "Harry, don't make this about something else."

But Harry ignored him. "Will you," Harry persisted. "I don't know...keep it to yourself until I actually have something worth loosing and then just drop the bomb shell on me, after making me into the perfect weapon."

"Harry," Dumbledore tried. But the young man was fed up, his name was being said far too much, like they all needed to keep him calm.

"Shut up!" he told the old man.

"Mate!" Ron exclaimed as the words came out from his best friend's mouth.

Harry shot run a furtive look. "Keep out of this, Ron."

* * *

"Mobilus restrictus tetol," Ginny thought as hard as she could manage. Small segments of magic twinkled in between her fingers but sooner than she could realize, she was able to move her head and see beyond the darkness that hid the ceiling from her.

She turned her head left and her eyes found a broken grey door that let three small rays of light in... It wasn't sunlight, though; she could tell there was probably a fire outside; probably a fire that her capturers were enjoying. She turned to the other side and took a deep breath as she saw a young child lying lifelessly in the corner. She couldn't tell if it was a boy or a girl, or the child's age, but she could tell it was an innocent child, just by the way he or she was sleeping.

The child's arms were crossed over the stomach, as if trying to hug a nonexistent toy, and the child's legs were twisted and tucked beneath it, obviously trying to keep itself safe.

Almost immediately, Ginny started to whisper the counter-course to the petrifying spell; however, a cold voice coming from outside stopped her.

"Are you sure it's her?" another voice muttered.

"Yes, father, I'm sure," the other insisted. "The map that Pettigrew made, the one similar to the one Potter has... it said it was her; I mean, she does look different; once we got here and I took a look at her...I started doubting but I'm positive it's her, the red hair is disgustingly Weasley."

"How?" The father spoke hardly.

The son seemed to hesitate for a second. "She... she came out on her own. I had been waiting for somebody to open the passage of the Room of Requirement; I knew that would be my only chance...when I saw it opening in the pub, I was ready to go inside, then I took out the map and saw it was her who was coming to me. Bloody idiotic, if you ask me, even for a Weasley."

Ginny snarled silently but didn't continue whispering the counter curse.

"The Dark Lord wishes to see her," the older man said.

The son hesitated once again. "She'll be out for at least another four hours; the Brenan Portkey drained the magic out of her. I've got her petrified until then, in case she does wake up sooner."

"He does not care; he wishes to _see_ her..."

The door started to open and Ginny quickly put the petrifying spell back on her, task which was a lot more difficult that it seemed. She felt the light in the room grow as the door was opened and she did her best to remain impassive.

An arrogant and crazy laugh was heard and Ginny knew it belonged to someone else, a woman. "Change her hair, cut her tongue and she'll be a good entertainment, don't you think, Draco?"

Draco Malfoy?

Ginny felt like being sick, she'd let Draco Malfoy capture her? How could she have been so stupid? She didn't even want to think what would have happened if it had been some real Death Eater, Ginny had heard from Harry that Draco was forced into that commitment to the Dark Lord. As Harry put it, he was still a smelly ferret, but too much of a coward to fight for anyone except himself. Suddenly another wave of anger went through her; if that was Draco, then Lucius Malfoy was also in the room, and Ginny's hate for that man almost rivalled her hate for Voldemort.

"Of course, aunt Bella," Draco agreed, although he didn't sound too convinced.

"What are you doing here, sister?" Lucius asked in a polite manner.

Bella's response was harsh. "I am not your sister, Malfoy; I don't know how you can even dare to think of yourself as my family."

"I'm as faithful to the Dark Lord as you or your dead husband; I will not be spoken to-"

But the sentence was cut short as a loud 'crucio' sounded from Bellatrix lips, and cries erupted from the man as he fell to the ground with a big noise. "Be quiet, Lucius. I've come to feed the Mudblood."

Ginny had almost forgotten about the child. It must be awake by now.

"Why is she in here?" Draco's voice sounded.

Bella's footsteps were heard nearing the corner of the room.

"Greyback bit her two days ago, we don't think she'll make it through the first moon, but the Dark Lord wants to wait, no one on Dumbledore's side will dare to kill her, but she'll be completely out of control if we decide to strike just before the full moon, she'll take a lot of people out," Bella explained, and Ginny felt her heart reach out for the little girl. She didn't even want to think about the age that this child probably was. "Either way," Bellatrix continued. "It's time for you to take the Weaselette to the Dark Lord, he's getting impatient."

Before Ginny could even think anymore, she was levitated.

* * *

"Mate, what are you doing?" Ron asked as he reached Harry's room and saw him looking through a book.

Harry looked up and then back down. "Trying to help your sister, you mind helping?"

Ron sighed. "Look, I know Hermione is convinced that I really have the emotional-range of...what was it, a teaspoon?" Seeing that Harry didn't laugh, Ron continued. "Either way, I know that if this was her I would be going crazy too, but, Harry, this isn't Hermione, or Susan or anyone normal, this is Ginny... Ginny leaves and Ginny goes and she'll come back when she wants to... as much as I hate to admit it, Ginny puts herself before anyone else."

Harry shut the book harshly and looked up at Ron.

"I lied to your sister," he confessed. "I've been lying to her for over a month and her walking out isn't about her thinking about herself; it's about me being selfish and your sister loves me, so, no, I don't think she's at a pub, sleeping with someone, which, by the way, even if you don't say it... well, it's easy to tell it's what you're thinking... but I'll only tell you this once ad once only...Ginny, Ginny would be back by now because she would know what this was doing to me, and, yes, she's probably angry, but not enough to break me so, yes, Ron, I believe something bad has happened to your sister, and if you people won't help me, then I'll find a bloody way to get into Hogwarts, steal some of that plant and perform the spell as well as I can, ok?"

Ron was silent and harry looked at him with a look tinted with disgust.

"Leave me alone, Ron, just go. If you're not going to help, then there's no point in you being here," Harry told his best mate.

"What's wrong with you, Harry?" Ron asked. "I'm your best mate, Ron, remember? You need me, we go together, and with Hermione...you don't do things alone."

"Go away, Ron," Harry repeated but Ron didn't move. "Okay, then, just picture yourself and Hermione in this situation instead of me and Ginny and stop thinking that it's completely different because it's not; in any case, it's even deeper for Ginny and me, so just picture that, and if you don't agree, leave, if you can see my point of view, grab that book and see if you can find the bloody charm."

* * *

"I must admit, Malfoy, I did not think you would be alive by now, I had no faith in you being able to capture a Hogwarts student; I guess I underestimated your desire to remain alive," Voldemort's icy voice filed the room.

Ginny was in the middle of the room, her petrified body hovering a metre above the floor. Her school skirt wasn't adjusted properly and her tights defended her dignity the best they could, but still, for the first time in a long while, Ginny Weasley felt exposed.

She still hadn't seen him, her eyes were looking at the ceiling and it was impossible for her to look around; however, she wasn't exactly sure she wanted to see him; her and harry had spoken about him various times and she knew Voldemort wasn't the nicest site.

"She's a nice specimen, isn't she? I must say...I'm curious as to what my memory did to her, I wasn't exactly a nice person back when I was sixteen, almost worse than I am now," the Dark Lord spoke in a light tone.

Ginny almost expected someone to laugh, but the room was dead silent.

"So, Malfoy, you confirm Harry Potter has taking a liking in her?" Voldemort asked.

Draco nodded. "More than that, My Lord, Pansy Parkinson has stated that they're very close, even closer than he is to the Mudblood and the other Weasley blood traitor. In fact, I have a feeling Potter is probably looking for her right now."

Voldemort cast him a furtive look. "Let's hope so."

Ginny wanted to scream. Draco was right, Harry would know something was wrong; he would know that she wouldn't leave for more than two hours, not without saying goodbye at least; maybe she would have a month ago, when she was strong enough to leave him... not now, now she wouldn't be able to truly walk away from him even if she wanted to.

"She's stunned?" Voldemort asked.

Draco shook his head. "A Brenan Portkey was made; she was knocked out, then I placed a petrifying charm on her to make sure she wouldn't try anything."

Voldemort eyed Ginny carefully as he walked around her.

"When was this?"

"Approximately three hours ago," was Draco's answer. "May I ask why that is relevant, My Lord? She will probably be out for at least four or five more hours."

Voldemort made a strange noise that could almost classify as chuckle.

"Well, how curious this is, Draco... since she is already awake."

His words had barely reached Ginny when she found herself falling on the floor, no longer petrified.

When she saw him, a little scream left her lips.

He was worse than Harry had described. His face was grey, almost like it was formed with snake scales that made him look the complete opposite of human. Thin lips formed around dark and uneven teeth, just beneath a nose that was almost nonexistent. And then came the eyes, looking right at her, red like blood, red like all the pain and anger he had caused.

Ginny could barely believe her thoughts, but all she could picture in her head was the memory that had destroyed her life and how incredibly handsome that sixteen-year-old had been... the straight black hair, the piercing black eyes, the beautiful voice... all of it gone, and all she could think of was that it had all gone to waste.

"Is it that Weasleys have so little magic that it takes very little to regain it or is it an anomaly that only you possess?"

Ginny couldn't help the snicker that came out of her parted lips, she wasn't acting rationally right now, and deep inside she knew nothing but adrenaline was pumping though her body and making her forget exactly who she was facing.

"I don't know, you tell me," were the words that came out of her mouth. She could almost hear her inner voice calling out 'bloody Gryffindor idiocy!'

Voldemort remained impassive, but Bellatrix's wand was on her in a matter of a second, luckily Ginny had learnt to be in constant vigilance and was able to jump before the amber light hit her in the chest. Yet, as she got to her feet, she realized she'd hurt her left one when she had fallen to the ground.

"How dare you?" Bellatrix's voice was heard resounding around the room.

Still, before Bellatrix could try and hit her again, Voldemort's hand, with his abnormally large fingers and disgusting yellow nails, stopped her.

"Bellatrix, we must not be cruel to our guest... her being resentful towards me is completely understandable, in fact let's see just how understandable it is..." the cold words came out, with a cruel mocking tone that was still somehow serious.

Ginny found herself trapped between the Dark Lord's wand and a crowd of Death Eaters, and then she knew she couldn't look away; she had to concentrate on her wall; she had to concentrate on Harry and she had to keep him away from her head, he had to keep him out.

"Legilimens," he shouted causing Ginny to feel like someone had just opened her head in two. This wasn't like when Harry had done it; this hurt, this was too strong.

However, as she felt him enter her head and meet her 'Harry-wall', she felt exactly like she had when Harry had been able to get past himself, she thought that must've been because the wall was Harry, but now she could feel Lord Voldemort walking through, reaching for her deepest fears.

And then she felt it. She felt the pain that wasn't her own, she felt Voldemort feeling like he was being split in half and then she understood, he would never be able to enter her head properly, not now at least, because now Harry was everywhere, Harry was everything... and Voldemort didn't understand what she felt for Harry; Voldemort couldn't possibly invade her mind when all she could think about was Harry. If this had happened two months ago, she'd already be lost, but now things were different...

Now she knew she loved Harry.

And as Voldemort pulled away, shrieking in pain, she knew she wasn't scared anymore; she knew she could fight Voldemort and she could get out of here and she could be strong.

"Take her away. Take her away now!" Voldemort's broken voice screamed at the death eaters. Ginny felt herself being taken by force, hardly, hurting her pained foot.

Before she could leave, Voldemort's voice sounded again. "Don't hurt her!" he ordered, and then he shot her a look that was meant to scare her. "I'll do that later on, maybe in front of the thing that's keeping me from hurting her now."

* * *

**A/N: This wasn't meant to be a two-parter, but like this you can access this chapter earlier and the drama reduces itself a bit...sometimes the best things must come slowly :P. Now, I'm going to do a really bad thing, I'm going to beg for reviews because today, on the 25th October, is _my sixteenth birthday_ and it hasn't been my best birthday, so if you could give me one of the best presents...please, _review :)_**


	19. Chapter 15: Rescue Part 2

_A/N: Hey guys! Sorry it's taken me this long to update but life has been hectic. You might realize that I didn't upload a forum for the last chapter's Q&A section..The thing is that there weren't any real questions in the reviews so, I didn't really know what to answer. Thanks a lot for all of you who said happy birthday; the day did get a lot better :) A special thanks to ScarlettSunshine...for the cutest review ever, it truly was wonderful. Anyway, now off to the story. By the way, don't forget to read the A/N at the BOTTOM it's very very important :)_

* * *

**Chapter 15, Part 2**

**Rescue**

* * *

_"I never made a daring rescue, which is the story people want to hear. I did go to my share of fires_." **Steve Buscemi**

* * *

"Where are you going?" a deep voice was heard in the dark hallway.

Harry turned around, clutching a book in his hand.

"Go on, Ron...I'll be there, in a second," Harry told Ron, who was standing beside him. Ron suddenly looked very worried. Harry sighed. "Hermione is in the kitchen with your mum," he told him. "And if you happen to run into her for some reason, just keep your mouth shut and keep looking."

Ron nodded and walked off, sharing a last look with Harry.

"Be where in a second?" Sirius asked his godson with a worried look in his face. "You're not going to go anywhere near Voldemort are you?"

Harry shook his head seriously. "Not right now."

Sirius sighed, exasperated. "What do you mean, not right now? You know I hate riddles, Harry, so just come right out and tell me what you're doing."

Harry hesitantly opened his mouth to speak. "I'm trying to find a tracing spell...the only two I've found need two days minimum, I need to find one which I can do easily..."

"And, if you find her?" Sirius asked, the worry was taking control of him again.

Harry gave the older man a look. "What do you think, Sirius?" he asked. "I I find her, I'll go look for her... and, yes, without even warning you because you'd stop me and then you'd go find her... but you wouldn't put all you've got into it... the only one who will is me, so I have to find her... I'm going to find a spell."

There was a small silence, followed by the appearance of a man Harry hadn't seen in a few months. "That won't be necessary," Severus Snape spoke up. "The Dark Lord is holding her prisoner."

Harry closed his eyes for a second as he felt his heart literally ache as it started beating at an abnormal speed, he felt his breathing deepen and then he felt his magic surrounding his body, ready to reach out for anything.

He opened his eyes and looked at Snape carefully.

"Where is she?" he asked, surprising himself at how hard his voice actually was.

"Bill Weasley is working on the wards as we speak," Dumbledore, who had been a few steps behind Snape, chimed in.

Harry shook his head. "Bill will take ages to figure them out, we don't have time for that... they are really complicated wards, if they weren't, Ginny would already be back."

"Older, but still as ridiculous as ever, I see," Snape spoke with arrogance. "Potter, what makes you think a normal sixteen-year-old who can't apparate would be able to get through any kind of wards?"

"Oh, trust me, she can, Snape..." Harry spoke with anger. "Not that I'm going to tell a Death Eater like you a word about her!"

Snape sent Harry a look of deep hatred and Sirius then sent him one in return.

"Men, please, calm down," Dumbledore told them, always the hero. "Harry, why are you under the impression Miss Weasley would be able to escape on her own."

"Talking to you is what's got us in this situation, I won't make the same mistake twice," Harry told him, he then looked at Snape, realizing he'd been unfair. "I'm sorry, you came here to tell me and that alone should be enough... How did he manage to catch her? I doubt Ginny walked out of Hogsmeade."

"Draco Malfoy," Snape answered with disdain as Harry's eyes darkened. "Some Slytherins have been keeping track of you for him, he told the Dark Lord about Weasley and he knew he wouldn't be able to capture a Hogwarts student, so he put Malfoy up to the impossible task...I'm guessing he'd been waiting for someone to open a passageway and your girlfriend did...you don't go for the smart ones, do you, Potter?"

"Shut up, Snivellus!" Sirius shouted at him before Harry could. Then, the godfather turned to his godson. "Harry, there's nothing we can do...you can't get yourself killed..."

"Well, I'm not going to let her get killed!" the seventeen-year-old shouted, the narrow hallway was starting to seem too small for all his feelings.

"Don't worry about that," Snape interfered. "She's only there as a trap...it's you he wants, like always."

* * *

Ginny tried to breathe calmly as they closed the cell door and the whole room became completely black.

She couldn't help but wonder if Harry was really looking for her or if he thought she had really walked out...he wouldn't think that, would he? He would know that she wouldn't abandon him, especially not now. How could she have been so stupid? If she had just left her pride aside she would have kissed Harry, told him it didn't matter, that maybe it was for the best and then they'd both be in front of a fireplace right now, kissing and feeling safe. She tried to stop thinking about that; she needed to get out of here before Harry had a chance to initiate a noble rescue.

She pointed her hand at the wall that separated her from the guards and flicked it, causing it to become invisible to her eyes.

There were three Death Eaters, but Ginny could only see their shadows in the darkness; she didn't understand why they had put out the fire that had given her light before. She groaned and flicked her hand again, removing the spell from the wall; she had to make sure she was protected, no matter how few or how many Death Eaters were watching her.

She pointed her hand at the door and cast a disillusionment charm on the three small holes she had seen before; now, if anyone were to look, they would only be able to see a dark room. Ginny then cast a small engorgement charm on the door, making sure that if someone were to try to open it, it would take them long enough for her to undo all of the spells she was firing and then she cast a complicated locking charm that would also take them a while to work out. Finally, she cast a silencing charm and then, with a click of two of her fingers, light flooded into the room.

For a second she wished she hadn't done that last spell.

The walls were covered with spider webs and humidity marks, some of them decorated with dead and alive insects, crawling up and down. The floor was covered with mould and more insects, and, even worse, with blood, blood that would most likely take a lot to clean away, blood of people who had probably died in there.

But, as she turned her head around, Ginny wanted to hit herself for forgetting about the other occupant of the room.

The girl couldn't have possibly been been older than four. She sat in the corner, hugging her legs to her body and looking at Ginny warily, with two huge amber eyes, filled with fear and tears, not to mention the redness around them. Ginny could tell that, before she had been captured, she had had beautiful strawberry blonde hair, but now it only looked dirty and it fell over her shoulders and around her face lifelessly. A red ribbon, one that matched the broken dress she was wearing, hung, forgotten, at the top of her head and only her left foot was covered with a small sock...her other foot wasn't just naked, it was twisted, so twisted that Ginny winced as she realized it was completely broken.

The girl's face hadn't suffered too much damage, it seemed, and Ginny suspected that that had been done on purpose, so she would seem more innocent to her victims. The red-head felt vile rise up her throat as she looked at the rest of the girl's body, though, which was covered in all kinds of scars, and she let out a furious shout when she realized the girl's lips were moving, but no sound was coming out.

She was pretty sure they had silenced her.

Ginny turned her whole body around and moved towards the girl, but the young child only retreated against the wall; however, she jumped back forward when she seemed to remember that the wall was infected with all kinds of parasites.

"It's okay," Ginny felt her voice sweeten. "I'm not going to hurt you, I really am not..."

The girl curled up even more, making her scream silently as she reached out for her broken foot.

Ginny bit her lip. "Look," she told the girl, pointing at her white shirt and her skirt. "I'm wearing normal clothes, a uniform...I'm one of the good ones, I really am not going to hurt you."

The girl looked down at her feet and then back at Ginny as she pointed down at her foot.

"I can't put it back to normal, because they would know and then they could hurt you and me, and then we wouldn't be able to get out," Ginny explained. "But I'll take the pain away, do you understand me? You must stay very still..."

The girl nodded.

Ginny smiled and moved closer to the girl, placing her left hand over the foot. She closed her eyes and suddenly felt herself take in the pain the girl had been suffering; it was only a second before the pain evaporated completely, but she couldn't help her anger boil as she thought of what they had put the poor girl through.

Ginny then proceeded to take some scars away, some that wouldn't be noticed, and take the pain away from the ones that she left, there was a huge bite scar that she knew no one would ever be able to take away, it was just above the girl's chest and it would torment her forever.

The girl looked up at her with surprised eyes and Ginny tried her hardest to smile back, the girl was probably so scared; not only had she been kidnapped, beaten and bitten by a werewolf, but she was also in presence of magic, something that she, as a Muggleborn, would have never seen before.

"Now I'm going to need you to tell me if you could speak before they hurt you," Ginny asked her.

The light girl moved her head up and down, nodding quickly.

"Okay," Ginny spoke. "So I'm going to try to take that spell off you but you mustn't speak if they come and get you, they have to think you're still under the spell, okay?"

Ginny touched the girl's cheek carefully and muttered the harder spell under her breath; a second later, the girl was making small noises of jagged breaths, on her face all you could see is relief.

She looked up at Ginny with a tiny smile. "Thank you," she said in her childish voice.

Ginny smiled sympathetically. "There's no need to thank me, I'm just glad you're okay," Ginny explained. "But I need you to answer some questions now, alright?"

The girl nodded again.

"Why don't you tell me what your name is?"

Suddenly the girl looked hesitant to answer any question, but not to ask them. "Do you know where my mummy is?"

Ginny gulped as she shook her head. "No," she confessed. "But maybe I'll be able to find her if you tell me your name."

The girl still looked hesitant but she answered. "Hop," she spoke with difficulty. "I-I...my daddy calls me Hop...because he says I 'hop' all the time..."

Ginny breathed in.

"That's a nice nickname," she tried to get the girl to open up. "My daddy used to call me princess, and my big brother, Charlie, calls me squirt... he likes to tease me... but my real name is Ginny, what's your real name?"

"Ho...p..." She spoke slowly, pronouncing a strong 'p'. And, suddenly, Ginny understood.

"Are you saying your name is 'Hope'?" she asked hopefully.

The little girl nodded and Ginny could tell she was warming up to her. Ginny wanted to ask about her surname, but she decided against it; that might be too much for her.

"Well, Hope, I'm going to need you to tell me some things, is that all right?"

Hope nodded, but this time she wasn't as enthusiastic.

* * *

"Harry, you really should be getting some sleep," Hermione reprimanded the young man.

Harry glared at her. "I'll sleep when Ginny's back home, if you don't mind. What is wrong with you, Hermione? She's one of us! How could you even suggest sleep? How is that even an option to you?"

"Hey, Harry...don't talk like that to her," Ron warned his friend before turning to his girlfriend. "And, _Hermione, _let him be, will you? None of us are going to rest until she's back."

Hermione sighed. "I'm just saying there's nothing you can do, Harry...so, if you're going to be here sitting down and worrying, you might as well have a nap."

Harry stood up, sending another glare at Hermione. "I'm not just worrying, I'm thinking..."

"Thinking about what?" Hermione spoke incredulously.

The three of them were alone in the library, while all the order members outside tried to help Bill with the wards he was trying to bring down, so far, he was having no luck.

"About a way to get in... couldn't we fly in?" Harry then asked. "I mean, the wards stop apparition but..."

"The place is impossible to see, Harry... you could fly all you want but you wouldn't see it, don't you understand? Besides, you shouldn't worry, Professor Snape has already told you that he doesn't plan on killing her, and he only wants you."

"I'm not scared of him killing her, Hermione," Harry snapped at her. "I'm worried about him _hurting_ her, about him getting in her head, about him bringing back memories that she really shouldn't have to relive."

Hermione looked at Ron, who shrugged at her. Lately, Harry was talking like Ginny had gone through hell, instead of the heaven that they had all pictured. When Hermione heard about Ginny's past, well all she could picture was a careless girl having fun, not someone with traumatic memories.

"Look, Harry," Hermione spoke up, "I'm sorry I'm being so annoying, but I can't see you like this... really; if I thought there was anything you could do to help, I would encourage you to, and I would help you with it; but... I think the best thing to do would be to ask nicely and with respect and Dobby or Kreacher will bring us a few sandwiches and we can..."

"Oh, Merlin! I've got it, guys... House Elves! They can apparate through wards! We can get through the wards!"

* * *

Ginny was talking to Hope when she heard footsteps.

"Hope, I'm going to put the light out, okay? Please, remember to not make a noise... please try, okay?"

"I promise I won't, I won't make a noise!"

Ginny caressed her cheek softly and flicked her left hand, making all the spells she had cast vanish, all except for the engorgement charm on the door, that would should stay. She looked back at Hope, and saw that the girl was curled up in a corner, just like she had been the first time she saw her. It was dangerous, trusting a four year old, who could barely speak properly, to keep the secret of your amazing powers, but Ginny didn't have it in her to silence her, it was too cruel.

The red-head had already figured out she would need at least two days to work around the wards, and that would only be enough to get herself out of there, she couldn't possibly side-along-Apparate Hope out of there, and she wasn't going to leave the child behind, the full moon would be coming in two weeks.

The only thing she could hope for was that the Order would find her and that Harry would stay home and not put himself in danger for her.

"I can't open the damn door!" a voice from outside shouted as loud blows to the door were heard.

"Just blast it open, Wormtail, and hurry up. The Dark Lord does not wait," a high-pitched-female voice, which Ginny recognised as Bellatrix's, answered.

Not five seconds later, the door was blasted open.

"Blood traitor," Bellatrix spoke with disgust as she pointed her wand at Ginny, "Come with me..."

Ginny shook her head. "No."

Bellatrix let out a furious growl. "I said... come with me!"

The older woman threw an Imperius curse at Ginny, but the teenager avoided it with ease. A few stunners and Cruciatus curses were also fired, but Ginny managed to avoid them, making Bellatrix even angrier.

"Fine," the Death Eater spoke with malice. She then turned to Wormtail. "Tell the Dark Lord that I will deal with her from here, it will be quicker and easier."

Wormtail looked scared. "B-but, the...the Dark Lord said she was..."

"Tell him I have got it under control, Wormtail!" the woman shouted and Wormtail obeyed as he left, muttering himself.

Bellatrix then turned to look back at Ginny, who was incredibly happy that they had come for her and not Hope. The dark-haired woman took a few steps towards Ginny and then, surprising the teenager for the first time, she pulled a few strands of her hair and smiled.

Ginny yelped, but quickly regained her composure as she realized why Bellatrix might have done what she had just done.

"Why do you need to impersonate me?" Ginny asked her, standing up quickly and making sure that Bellatrix wasn't getting out of the cell anytime soon.

Bellatrix let out one of her mad laughs and sarcastically pouted at Ginny.

"Oh..." she said in a babyish voice. "The Weaselette is actually smart... not strange that Potty is so in love with you..."

Ginny breathed in, trying to keep her temper in check. "I asked you a question," she reminded her.

Bellatrix smirked at her. "Well, since you're going to be dead pretty soon, I'll tell you that we have news: it seems that Potter is trying to save you and, at first, it seemed like a great way to kill him, but now that the Dark Lord thought about it... what about, Ginny, a.k.a. me on the Polyjuice potion, appears at that thing that you Weasleys call house and then take Harry Potter by surprise."

Ginny wanted nothing more than to vomit at the satisfaction on Lestrange's face; the only reason she had told her this was to get a reaction out of her, but Ginny wasn't about to give in.

"Tom's plan is pretty stupid, you know..." Ginny then spoke, enjoying the look of shock that crossed Bellatrix's face as she spoke Voldemort's real name. "Firstly, you won't be able to get through the wards and, especially, Harry would _never _believe you're me...we've got security questions for a reason and, last time I checked, your dear master couldn't get in my head."

Bellatrix's lips formed a straight line by now. "But you forget, Weasley... he must be in quite a state right now, when he sees you, or me, I'm guessing he's not really going to care about security questions and, after that, well, I'm sure I can find ways to distract that man, wouldn't you agree? And, about the wards, I'm sure I'll be able to sort something out. Besides, you shouldn't worry, the minute he lets his guard down, we'll be coming back here, and it won't be long."

Ginny nodded. "Yeah, I guess maybe it is a good plan... shame you're not going to be able to develop it, huh?"

A look of confusion crossed Bellatrix's face before Ginny pointed her right hand at her and her wand flew right into the younger woman's hand.

"What?" Bellatrix muttered, completely confused.

Ginny waved her wandless hand and silenced the witch as quickly as she could.

"Surprised?" Ginny asked. "You should've checked who you were dealing with; it's not a good idea to mess with a Weasley, or a Potter...or, even better, with me. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to see what all this is about, okay?"

Ginny closed her eyes and concentrated on channelling her magic through Bellatrix's wand. It was a hard spell and she needed a mean of 'transportation' for her magic in order for the spell to work.

"Legilimens," she spoke quietly, feeling her brain merge with Bellatrix's. She felt the anger and she felt the eagerness to block her out, but Ginny was stronger and they both knew that now. Thousands of images came to the young woman's mind, she saw Bellatrix's father, abusing his eldest daughter, and she saw Tom Riddle praising her for her work, she saw him telling her to become Ginny Weasley and leave the girl in an unconscious state in which she wouldn't bother; she saw him telling her how he would kill Harry Potter when the time was right.

Ginny pulled out of Bellatrix's head and closed her eyes for a second so that she could clear her thoughts.

It didn't take long for her to open her eyes again and stun Bellatrix and petrify her before she could complete an escape.

"What a stupid woman," she spoke to herself, as she began plotting silently. She then turned to Hope, who was staring at her silently. "Hope, I'm going to need you to do something, okay?"

Hope nodded warily.

* * *

"That's great, mate!" Ron spoke enthusiastically. "We have to go and tell Sirius!"

"Ron," Harry stopped him. "You go and tell them, and then tell them to get Kreacher to pass the wards...I can't believe we hadn't thought of this before."

"Well you're coming down too, right, Harry? With Ron and me? So you can tell Sirius?" Hermione asked him with a worried look.

Harry didn't break I contact with her. "I can't go..." Harry whispered but both he and Hermione knew that it was a lie. "I'm gonna stay up here and read some more books just in case something goes wrong, okay?"

Hermione shook her head. "Harry..." she warned him. However, Harry just continued looking at her, trying to make her understand that, no matter what she tried, he was going to do what he thought was right.

She bit her lip and shook her head; Ron looked at both of them, confused. "Come on, Hermione...let's go..."

Hermione looked at Harry for a few more seconds until the emerald-eyed young man nodded towards Ron, trying his hardest to make her know it was okay to leave, that it was okay to let him work this out.

"Go on, Ron, I need to pick up one of the house elves books, I'll be behind you in a sec..." Hermione told him.

Ron looked like he knew something was wrong, but he decided to ignore it and nodded before going out of the door. The minute he was out of sight, Hermione threw her arms over Harry.

"You're an idiot and your idiocy is going to bring consequences," she told him in her know-it-all tone. Harry was about to answer, but Hermione beat him to it. "But I know you love her and I know how much she means to you, and, even if she didn't mean that much, you couldn't stay away from someone in danger, it's not just in you."

Harry opened his mouth again, but Hermione spoke over him.

"But, remember, that I love you too and I don't know what I...what we...what all of us will do if any harm comes to you, so, please...please, Harry! Be careful, okay?"

Harry tightened his arms around her and kissed his friend's cheek as he thought about how hard this must be for her. It had always been the trio, hadn't it? For Harry, he had never taken a step without consulting and working with Ron and Hermione, but this had nothing to do with them, this had to do with him.

"Just get her and come back, don't even try to take a shot at him, ok? The Horcruxes aren't..."

Harry pulled back and looked at Hermione. "Hermione, I know, I'm just going to get her out of there."

The bushy-haired witch looked at her best friend one last time before turning around and closing the door behind her. Just before leaving, she heard Harry's voice.

"Dobby."

* * *

"Bellatrix?" Voldemort questioned as a cloaked figure appeared in the large dark room.

She took a step forwards and pushed the hood back. "My lord," she spoke as well as she could. "I hope you are not upset that I chose to deal with the blood traitor elsewhere," she tried to sound apologetic. "Time was scarce and I knew it would be easier to deal with her there."

Voldemort dismissed the problem with a wave of his hand. "No damage done, Bellatrix, now the only problem will be the wards

She thought quickly. "Before I got the Weaslette unconscious, I forced her to send a speaking Patronus to Potter, saying she would be outside the wards of that Weasley hell hole in less than an hour. He'll believe she was just too tired to apparate through two sets of wards, My Lord."

"A Patronus?" Voldemort mocked. "These Gryffindors...always depending on their hearts and happiness. They can even cast a spell in their worst moments..."

"Yes, my lord."

Ginny could barely keep the disgust out of her tone, but she knew she must stand it; her plan was perfect, it was like she had been given a gift. She had known where to find the Polyjuice and she had given taken a few curls from Bellatrix's head, just before obliviating her and casting a swelling spell on her brain, the bitch would never be the same. Then she had seen the paper tissue in Bellatrix's pocket and she knew that a Portkey would be perfect for Hope, Ginny would've never been able to make a big enough one for her that wouldn't attract the ward's attention, but Hope barely had any developed magic at this point and a tissue barely had material, so she could get the little girl out and ask her to inform her family that she would be in The Burrow soon enough and that she'd apparate from there to Grimmauld place. The only thing she had to do was pretend to be a crazy psychopath for a while and then she'd be home.

"Well, then, my dear Bellatrix...in the cellar... I trust you will be back before tomorrow morning?" the snake asked.

Ginny nodded. "I do not know, but I will try to return as soon as possible, My Lord. Now, if I may be excused, I will get walk outside the wards and apparate.

Ginny turned around and started walking, but before long Voldemort spoke again.

"Bellatrix."

Ginny turned around.

"Yes, My Lord?"

"I just thought, it might not be a bad idea to mess a little with Potter, make him angry, mad...careless..." the Dark Lord spoke.

Before Ginny could even show a confused expression, Voldemort's wand was up in the air, pointed directly at her.

For a second she was sure he had figured her plan out, especially when she felt an invisible sharp object pressed against her chin and make its way up her cheek, leaving a deep cut. The cut starting bleeding as the sharp object made its way down her arm.

"I'm sure you'll be able to anger Potter, coming up with horrifying explanations for these cuts, B-"

But his sentence was cut short as a 'pop' was heard and, a second after, a familiar voice shouted 'expeliarmus' and Tom Riddle's wand flew out of his hand.

* * *

"Harry's come up with something!" Ron shouted as he reached the kitchen, but, a second after he appeared, a mixture of colours appeared in the kitchen atmosphere and, on top of the kitchen table appeared a small girl holding a tissue.

The small girl looked around and it seemed she just wanted to hide, but she fought herself and, looking down at the tissue, she spoke in her undeveloped and childish voice.

"Ginny says she's good and she says she's going to go to The Barrew and then to Giman Place soon."

Everyone looked at each other, and then Ron was the first to speak. He took a step towards the girl and, surprising everyone, especially Hermione who nearly shouted that she was probably an impostor, he stretched his arms and offered her a place in between them. Hope looked at him with a mixture of fear and doubts, but after a few seconds she realized he looked like Ginny and she shuffled on the table, letting Ron grab her and balance her on one hip, she was so skinny and small.

"Do you mean The Burrow? She said she would be at The Burrow?"

Hope nodded.

"And then in Grimmauld Place?"

Hope nodded again.

Ron smiled. "Do you know how she's going to get out? How did you get out?"

Hope shrugged. "Ginny has magic," she simply said. "Her hand throws light and she hurt the bad woman and took her clothes and then she told me to take the paper and to tell the people that she was going to..."

She continued talking but Ron stopped listening and turned to Hermione. "Ginny can do wandless magic?"

It was Remus who answered, though. "Yeah," he nodded. "She stunned Harry with her bare hand, and for a long time, too, we were trying to tell you, but with all this mess..."

Ron nodded trying to digest it; he then felt someone take Hope from him and realized it had been Tonks.

"Hermione," Ron spoke. "Go tell Harry, I don't know how, but it seems we might not have to intervene after all."

But, when Ron really looked at his girlfriend, he realized her hands were shaking and her eyes were wide resting at the ground. When she realized they were talking to her, she looked up.

"Harry's already left, Ron."

* * *

Ginny cursed as Harry appeared, standing next to a house elf that she could swear she had seen before, maybe in her first year at Hogwarts.

"Harry Potter," Voldemort said as he stood up and descended the stairs, he didn't seem to mind that he didn't have a wand on him. But, again, that might be because there were over twenty Death Eaters in the room, ready to strike the instant they were told too.

"This is only about you and me," Harry spoke harshly, pointing both wands at Voldemort. "She has no business here."

Ginny wondered what the best thing to do was. Voldemort thought she was Bellatrix, but Harry thought she was Ginny and Voldemort needed to think that she was Bellatrix acting as Ginny.

"Harry!" she yelled. "Get out of here."

"Silence!" Voldemort yelled, sending Ginny a look that was directed to an ally and not an enemy. "This might just be where I wanted you."

Ginny closed her eyes for a second. Voldemort now had Harry right in front of him and maybe he had changed his mind, maybe he had decided that killing him now was a better option and, then, they would all be dead. Bloody Harry and his bloody hero complex.

"I don't care where you want me, Tom," Harry shouted at him. "Just let her out!"

"Young Harry, love is for idiots; look at what you've put yourself through for a girl who can be replaced so easily." Voldemort laughed inwardly, enjoying the supposed inside joke that would one day become an inside joke for Harry and Ginny. "But then I suppose it's also the bond isn't it?"

Harry's face suddenly became an expression of fear. "What are you talking about?"

"She let me in, Harry," Voldemort's slithery voice mumbled. "Just like you let me in, her wall doesn't work against me and it's not because of that diary, it's because she's linked to you, I could feel it."

Ginny decided not to dwell on what she had just heard as she took a few steps forwards carefully, watching how Dobby, who seemed to had been forgotten, looked at her. Ginny reached out for his hand, and with her eyes told him to stay still until she had a hold on Harry. Dobby nodded and held his hand out and Ginny supposed that he could see past the polyjuice.

"I doubt you could feel it! There's nothing about it that you could even begin to comprehend!" Harry's anger flared and Ginny knew it was time.

"Tom!" she shouted as a distraction. Voldemort's eyes suddenly looked very confused. "You might want to check on Bellatrix, she's not doing too well!"

And before she had finished the sentence, she had grabbed Harry's arm and the three of them were back in the Grimmauld place living room.

* * *

The sound of a bang next to the kitchen was heard by all the panicked members of the household, and they were all out of the dining area and at the door of the living room before anyone had time to speak.

The sight wasn't exactly what they had expected.

Dobby stood in the far corner of the room, staring at Harry and a woman who was slowly starting to look like Ginny but still had a distinguished Lestrange look about her, they were in the middle of the room, standing face to face, both looking pretty angry.

"I had it under control!" Ginny shouted. "There was no reason for you to risk your life like that! He was going to kill you."

"Why can't you ever just say 'thank you'? Is it really so hard?" He asked her. "And what were you thinking? Walking out of Hogwarts? I had warned you! Hadn't I told you thousands of times?"

"It's not like I didn't have a reason!" Ginny shouted.

"It's not like I didn't have one either!"

"You're an idiot!"

"You're a stubborn mule!"

"You could have died!"

"_You_ could have died!"

And, then somehow, they stopped shouting, and before anyone could expect it, they were in each other's arms, kissing. Harry was holding Ginny tightly, caressing her hair as she put both her hands on Harry's cheeks and pressed herself to him, seeming to not get enough.

Fred and George wolf-whistled, but they only got a hard nudge in the ribs and Harry and Ginny didn't even seem to notice.

* * *

Harry finally pulled back and pressed his forehead against Ginny's, looking right into her eyes.

"Don't ever do that to me again, okay? Never!"

"Don't ever lie then, never again."

"Never, ever again," Harry promised. He then looked out of the corner of his eyes and saw over fifteen people looking at them. "We've got an audience," he told Ginny.

"Let them enjoy the show," she told Harry, and then as if she'd said it a thousand times before, as if there wasn't a moment of hesitation, as if she'd known it her whole life, she said it. "I love you."

He breathed in and forgot about the other people once again. "I know," he replied with a smirk.

Ginny punched him playfully in the arm.

"I love you too, Ginny. I love you more than anything, I love you more than love itself, I..." he then stopped. "I am incredibly corny."

Ginny giggled. "I don't care, you're mine, you're all mine."

"Yeah, I'm all yours. Forever."

Ginny gulped. "Forever."

And they knew that forever might be a short time and they knew that everything was wrong and nothing was right, and that feeling like this, like they couldn't be happier, wasn't all right, but they couldn't bring themselves to care because it was true...they would never be happier than this, they would never be happier than they were with each other.

* * *

A/N: So, very very corny and fluffy and, the whole rescue probably left more than one of you feeling very disappointed, I know it left me that way...truth be told, the plan was to have a huge battle and kill off some people but when I was writing I just, well, it just seemed to crowded and now it seems too lame and easy but, well, you know I'm an amateur at this and I just hope you guys will continue reading.

**IMPORTANT! So, yes, this isn't the last chapter of the story, or at least I hadn't planned it to be, but, truth be told, I could leave it here, I don't think it'd be such a bad place to end it. However, I had planned to write until the final battle so I'll try to get there; but, for now, I'm on HIATUS! The reason...well, I'm very busy and, truthfully, I have no idea what comes next. I had only planned up to here, so, first, I need to get past my trimestral exams, which have a lot of input on my senior year results, so I need to concentrate. So, I don't know when I'll upload next but don't expect anything until late JANUARY, early FEBRUARY...and, be truthful, if you think it might be best to leave it here then, please, tell me...I really wouldn't mind...and I really would appreciate your ideas. **

So, today, in you review please can you include. **1) Do** you think it might be a good idea to make this the end of the story? **2) Do** you have any ideas whatsoever on what should happen next? **3) What** did you think about this chapter **4) What **did you think about the Harry Potter movie! - I really wanna hear that.

So please, **REVIEW!**, please, please please :D

One last thing...since this is the last update for a while, I want to thank a few people for making this story possible. First, and above all...the amazing, amazing, amazing **J.K. Rowling** who we owe the whole HP universe too...I swear, to me, you are bigger that the guy who invented electricity :D. Then, to my English teacher back when I studied in an English school, Mr. Trafford, because I wouldn't even read if it wasn't for him...and finally, last but not AT ALL least, in fact almost as importantly as J.K. Rowling, THANK YOU SO MUCH, **Amelie!** Without you, no one would be able to read this story, you take your time and you correct all my atrocious mistakes, thank you, a million times, thank you!


	20. AN

**AUTHOR's NOTE**

Hello people,

Sorry to those of you who thought this was an update :(

I'm afraid there won't be any updates for quite a while...

probably until summer...

I won't abandon this story, really, but there's some things I'm not happy about and I'm going to change them...

As you may see, the prologue has changed and, every week (aprox.) I will change another chapter...

this is simply to make the story better...

If you're interested in reading the chapters again as I go updating them..

I suggest becoming a member of siye and favoriting my story so you'll get updates when a new chapter is up.

The name is the same and so is my pen name so it won't be hard to write it :)

* * *

I am sorry for the hiatus but It's for the good of the story...

I won't be changing any key factors, I'll just be making it better...

I hope you all understand

Lot's of hugs and kisses...

Pilargirl


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